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The Xbox 360 S 250GB Console Bundle ... Reviewed!

2010-07-28T11:19:00.001-05:00

Just about a month ago, Microsoft made a big splash in the water by releasing the new, redesigned, 'slim' version of the Xbox 360. The new console, dubbed the Xbox 360 S, is sold with WiFi compatibility built in and includes a 250GB hard drive. The Xbox 360 S also takes on a new appearance, sporting a sleeker form factor that includes a slight redesign of the physical appearance system itself, while maintaining the same basic shape of the original Xbox 360.

The New Xbox 360 S

Many current 360 owners will ask themselves, "Is it time for an upgrade?"... "Is it worth it to upgrade?"... "Yes, no, maybe so...".

First off, considering how the new Xbox 360 S sizes up against the original Xbox 360, there is really not much of a true physical difference. While it's definitely no Playstation 2 turned slim transformation, the new Xbox 360 S manages to cut about an inch and a half of height, a sliver of width, and actually increase a third of an inch in depth. Microsoft also decided to cut down the weight from 7.7 pounds on the original to 6.3 pounds on the new redesigned Xbox 360 S. The actual physical resemblance between the two systems is very clear, although the newer 360 S takes on a slimming and more futuristic look.

The Xbox 360 S sports all of the same cable connections as on the original system, while also adding an optical audio jack, a dedicated kinect port, and a redesigned hard drive bay. With memory cards entering the final waning days of their lives on the 360, Microsoft decided to ditch the mem-card ports in place of two extra USB sockets. Interactive buttons on the front of the system, such as the DVD tray eject button have been made capacitive (touch sensitive). Overall, the system does make slight improvements physically speaking, although there is nothing that really goes as far as to stand out.

The most useful addition to the 360 S is the built in 802.11n WiFi connection, which allows for downloading and online gaming on par with a direct Ethernet connection. The hardware, although slightly updated, does not make any noticable improvements on processing speed (loading or installing games). Fortunately, the 360 S redeems itself by acting as a more efficient incarnation of it's older brother. Tests have shown that the redesigned system uses a third less power when playing and installing games or watching DVDs, and close to nothing when sitting idle at the dashboard. The 360 S is also stealthy quiet compared to even the newer Xbox 360 Elite systems, it hardly makes a whisper when playing games that have been installed onto the hard drive. Unfortunately, it still manages to act as a makeshift space heater when left on for long periods of intense gaming.

So is the new Xbox 360 S truly worth getting? For first time Xbox 360 buyers, the answer would be a definite yes. With many new games coming out this fall that are sure to make a splash, as well as the built in Kinect compatibility, it is hard to overlook such a powerful system. For current 360 owners looking to upgrade, the question is a bit more debatable. Most Xbox 360 owners will be satisfied with their 120GB hard drives for now, and a system redesign alone doesn't hold much weight in the eyes of most casual gamers. Sure it may be quieter and use less power, but those perks alone are most likely not enough for the current 360 owner to make the splash, unless you are own a Xbox 360 arcade or 20GB Pro and are looking to make the step up, or just have deep pockets.

Pick me! Pick me!

Fortunately, for those current owners who are interested, there is are ways to get the 360 S for less. A 'old' 20GB system complete with cables and a game or two (something you don't really play anymore) can be sold for $150 on eBay. You can even try asking if any of your friends are interested in the system, possibly through a social networking site, or even post it on craigslist (to avoid eBay's fees). Couple that nice return with an online retailer who is running a free shipping promotion and you pick up the Xbox 360 S for $299 flat. Not too shabby I'd say, but I'll be sticking with my trusty 120GB system for now, but I can't say I don't see a possible upgrade in the near future.

- BakEd

Medal of Honor Beta for Xbox 360 is live!

2010-07-27T14:55:00.002-05:00

Well folks, it looks like EA was finally able to get the Medal of Honor beta online for Xbox 360 users this past Friday. Gamers who had already pre-ordered the game through GameStop will have received a hard copy of the code upon checkout or through an email (for those who pre-ordered online).

When starting up the beta for the first time, you will notice two available game types, Team-Assault and Mission. The Team-Assault game mode is essentially a team death match with a few interesting differences. The winning team is decided by reaching an overall score total, which in this case is 1200 points. The scoring system gives a base of 10 points for each kill, plus an additional 5 for a head shot, melee, and or redemption or savior kill (of a teammate). These bonuses add up quickly, making it possible for a team to win the match while having less overall kills than their opponents. Many Battlefield Bad Company veterans will recognize the Mission game type as having great similarities to the Rush game mode on BFBC and BFBC2. Attackers try to destroy a certain objective in the map, if they are successful in doing so, a new objective will appear and players advance to a new point further along in the map. There are a total of five objectives to destroy in the Mission game type on the beta. Defenders must stop the attacking team from destroying the objective by withering away the opponents ticket count, which when reaches zero, equates to a victory.

The game play is essentially a hybrid between the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare series and Battlefield: Bad Company 2. The game is produced by DICE and EA, using the frostbite engine, leaning closer to the Battlefield series in terms of game design and weapon feel, while maintaining a fast pace and rewarding "point streak" rewards give it a resemblance to Call of Duty. Bullet damage seems to resemble BFBC2 more closely than in the Call of Duty series. Head shots on the MOH are deadly, let me repeat that deadly, because chances are if you don't head shot the other player in a firefight, you will likely be seeing the respawn screen. Although the hit detection system is still a bit flawed, and it is frustrating to deal with the 'delayed deaths', the beta still does a good job of finding a niche in the balance between the two FPS games. The frostbite engine combined with DICE's game developers have led to the creation of 'Call of Duty sized maps" with BFBC2 style texture and environment design. The beta maps are relatively well designed, providing a good balance for both teams.

Users can choose between three pre-determined soldier classes, Rifleman, Special Ops, and Recon. Players start out with a limited ability to customize their equipment, but as they progress by earning points with the respective class, unlocks such as combat scopes, silencers, muzzle brakes, extended magazines, and open-tip ammunition become available. Players rank up their own skill level separately from kit classes. The player ranking system is based on a 'skill level' which changes depending on the dynamic performance of the player in ranked games. Posting a 40-5 kill death ratio in a lobby filled with lower leveled opponents (in comparison to your own) will only net you a 10 point bonus on your overall skill level. Yet placing mid table in a lobby filled with players way above you in terms of skill level can net you a large bonus.

For anyone who has yet to try out the beta, I highly recommend giving it a shot. It may not be the most ground-breaking FPS to hit the 360 scene, but it sure is a nice change of pace from the usual MW2 or Bad Company. For those who would like to catch a game with me before the beta runs it's course, my gamertag is listed in the right hand column of the page.

Until next time,
- BakEd

Amazon is running a good deal for those who order through their website, saving you some money by providing free shipping.

Fifa 10 Double Champs Achievement Guide

2010-01-01T21:16:00.003-06:00

So I've been playing EA's Fifa 10 for a while and I decided to go for achievements. I'm currently managing Arsenal, in my 2nd season. I play all of my games manually, usually winning most of not all. For those who like to simulate the fixtures, in an essence giving you a true manager mode experience, it may be a bit more difficult to unlock the 'Double Champs' achievement, especially when managing in a top level league such as the English Premier League.

For those of you achievement moguls who don't feel like sweating out two long seasons, I'd suggest this as an easy way to unlock the achievement for winning the league title twice in a row. Go to 'Team Management' in the main menu and select 'Transfers'. Select a team from a first tier league that has low ranked teams overall (such as the MLS) and transfer players into a team in that division (this will be your manager mode team). Spend about five minutes transferring over top players from notable teams to fill your roster with at least 7 top players in every position, and two goal keepers.

For example you can use:

GK:
Iker Casillas (Real Madrid)
Julio Cesar (Inter Milan)

DEF:
Dani Alves (Barcelona)
Carles Puyol (Barcelona)
Maicon (Inter)
John Terry (Chelsea)
Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United)
Philip Lahm (Bayern Munich)
Sergio Ramos (Real madrid)

MID:
Kaka (Real Madrid)
Michael Essien (Chelsea)
Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
Xavi Hernandez (Barcelona)
Esteban Cambiasso (Inter Milan)
Diego (Juventus)
Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan)

FWD:
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
Fernando Torres (Liverpool)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Barcelona)
Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Robin van Persie (Arsenal)
Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)

You may have to transfer out players that are currently on the team along the way to make sure the roster is not completely filled up. Next, once you have your team stacked with top players such as the ones mentioned above, transfer out all the other players that were on the team.

Now save your rosters and go to 'New Manager Mode' and select the team you transferred all your players to. Turn off auto save to make the process go by quicker, and just simulate every game. You should be winning almost every game. Once you have the money you can upgrade your teams fitness level as teams in these leagues usually have a poor fitness staff, leading to the tiring of your players. After playing through the league for two seasons you should easily unlock the 'Double Champs' achievement, not to mention likely 'The Treble' and 'Established' achievements aswell.

'Double Champs' 10G | Win consecutive League titles in any top tier League in Manager Mode

Looking forward to 2010

2009-12-31T00:14:00.003-06:00

So to a close comes a great year for gaming in 2009. The Xbox 360 has had some huge releases and brought about some really interesting stuff over the last twelve months. Modern Warfare 2 was a ton of fun, and I have been playing it at a near daily rate. I've also had a lot of fun playing Forza Motorsport 3, building my garage and tuning my cars. Lastly, FIFA 10 failed to disappoint, it's more often than not continually kept me sitting at my desk and playing 360 rather than actually watching live games on TV.

I will be getting my hands on Assassins Creed II and Borderlands very soon aswell. I can tell you I am eager to begin my ACII campaign and try out the multiplayer features on Borderlands. But for now it is a farewell, bringing a close to 2009. With 2010 will likely come the much anticipated release, or further development of Project NATAL for Xbox 360. x360n.com will have all the latest when any new information is available. Farewell for now...

Modern Warfare 2 Limited Edition Xbox 360 (250GB)

2009-09-16T21:14:00.003-05:00

There was a lot of buzz in the air regarding today's announcement from Microsoft regarding a new 250GB Limited Edition, Modern Warfare 2 Style Xbox 360 console. This new bundle is set to hit the shelves the same day as the game itself (November 10th) and will include two wireless controllers. The Xbox 360 console will have a Modern Warfare 2 themed design and will include all the accessories that come with a normal Elite. Plus the nice 250GB hard drive, which is surely a hint about what is the future of the Xbox 360 platform(DVR, Media Center, Downloaded Games).

The bundle will retail at $399 USD in the United States. One notable article to mention is that the 250GB hard drive will be limited to the MW2 bundle at this time, and will not be sold separately. This leaves the 120GB hard drive retailing at $149 USD, a steep price to swallow. Look for Microsoft to restructure hard drive prices in the near future. We are predicting that the 20GB will be completely phased out, the 120GB will notch down to $69 USD, and the 250GB should slide in at around the $99-$129 USD range.

Not much else to report on this week... Did I mention that rumors are already surfacing within hours of this MW2 Limited Edition Console announcement that Sony has already prepped an equivalent 250GB PS3 Slim bundle that will likely drop during the Holiday season.

New Modern Warfare 2 Multiplayer Gameplay Trailer

2009-09-01T17:01:00.002-05:00

Infinity Ward has released a sneak peak at their new multiplayer game mode for Modern Warfare 2. As shown in the trailer below, a new 'capture the flag' mode has been added to the game.

Among new features seen in the video were people running around in Riot Shields, an Air strike Perk at 4 kills, and a Predator missile Perk at 5 kills. The gameplay looks slightly refined and the graphics look better than on the previous Call of Duty 4 installment. Host migration has also been added, allowing for a new host to be chosen almost instantly if the current one leaves, allowing for fluid gameplay without the need to return to the lobby. Players can also throw knives to down opponents who are not within hand's reach.

Interesting stuff, be sure to check it out below. The retail version of Modern Warfare 2 will hit shelves on November 10th.

Microsoft cut the price of the Xbox 360 Elite Console to $299 USD

2009-08-27T21:36:00.003-05:00

That's right, the new $299 USD console will be effective by tomorrow morning at most major retailers. This obviously seems to be a pleasant response from Microsoft to Sony's addition of a newer 120GB Console that will retail at the same price. Microsoft also announced that the Arcade Xbox 360 Bundle would have its retail price sliced on the shelves to $199 USD. They have also confirmed that both current and new $299 USD Elite Console's will be compatible with Project NATAL and controller free gaming.

Seems like a good move from Microsoft to attract any remaining gamers that have yet to dip their feet into the world of Xbox 360. Hey, and if you are reading this and you don't own one, go ahead and shell out the three-hundred bucks for the new quieter and more efficient Elite, I promise you won't regret it... (psst, don't bother with the Arcade Edition, Elite ftw).

EA Sports Fifa 10 demo release date confirmed

2009-08-21T11:21:00.003-05:00

Electronic Arts as confirmed that the new Fifa 10 demo will be coming to the Xbox Live Marketplace on September 10th. The demo will likely include four teams and allow users to play a game with two minute halves. A bit short for my liking, but hey, I will very excited at the prospect of getting my feet wet with this promising installment for the 2009-10 season.

A full preview will be posted after the Demo has hit the Marketplace.

Check out the new preview trailer below:

Gamestop Adventure

2009-08-13T20:57:00.004-05:00

Well, not much going on today. The update has fully set in around the Xbox world, and the in-game content seems to be selling. I took a quick look at my friend's list today before playing my beloved Fifa 09. About half of my friends online had avatar marketplace items outfitted on their avatar.

Not much else to report on, except for, oh, a little adventure to Gamestop. I walked into the store and a strange influence came about me. I decided to splurge and put down $30 on Fifa 10, $40 on Forza 3 Limited Edition, and $30 on Modern Warfare 2. Burned a nice little bill in the process but at least I won't be scrambling for cash when the games come out. I've decided when I have the cash to spare, I'll put it down on any money I've pre-ordered. It's nice to walk in on the date of release and pick the game up 'without paying'... well it beats coughing up $65 on one go. I'll cushion the blow with small incremental additions...

That's all for now. I'll be on Twitter a whole bunch, so subscribe if you'd like, here!

Xbox 360 August Update is Live!

2009-08-11T14:00:00.004-05:00

The wait is over, the new August Xbox Live Update has arrived! There had been a lot of excitement brewing in regards to the features the new update would boast.

If you have been living under a rock, read the preview of the update here.

I logged into my account this morning and was immediately prompted to download the update. It only took about thirty seconds and I was on my way. A thing I noticed which was not mentioned in previews during the days leading up to the update was a little message that displays below the download bar to indicate the estimated time remaining. Yes, I know those can be annoying, especially when downloading files on the computer or moving files from your hard drive to a external storage device (or vice-versa). "Mommy, it says two minutes left." You go and grab a quick snack from the fridge... "Mommy it says three hours left." Three hours pass... "Mommy, it still says thirty minutes left"... then those thirty minutes precede to drag out for over an hour. Alright, that was an exaggeration, but well at least in my experience while downloading stuff off the marketplace today, the estimated time remaining indicator was pretty accurate.

I swapped my Avatar's clothes for the all black tux, which incidentally, was free, and has been on the Avatar since it debuted. But of the new things available, a COG Soldier, Star Wars Storm Trooper, or USMC full body outfit would cost you 400 Microsoft Points a piece ($5 USD). Quite expensive, but I admit they did look cool. I couldn't resist shelling out 160 Microsoft Points ($2 USD) for the new soccer ball prop that was available. Among the other things available were new clothing and shoes from Quiksilver, Adidas, and 'in game brands' such as Halo and Bioshock.

The new game rating feature is also active in the marketplace, and no surprise that Halo 2 is among one of the more popular titles. Although in my opinion, the GoD (Games on Demand) prices are a bit too steep for games that can be found at GameStop or on eBay for a third of the price. I have yet to try out the Netflix feature, but it looks very interesting. I dished out a few party invites and everything seemed very streamlined and easy to use. I also noticed a nice big '2' next to my gamertag, which means I've been using Xbox Live Gold for two full years, and soon to be three this fall.

Well folks, that's all for today. If you haven't signed in to XBL today, your missing out on some cool new stuff. I suggest you hurry over to your Xbox 360 and download the new Update. I definitely wasn't disappointed.

Preview: August Xbox Live update

2009-08-09T13:13:00.020-05:00

Microsoft unwrapped all the details regarding the new Xbox 360 Update that has now been confirmed to be available on August 11th. This update will NOT boast Microsoft's previously promised Facebook, Twitter, Zune Instant 1080p, and Last.FM compatibilities, which are now expected to be unrolled in the late fall or winter
updates.

Avatar Marketplace

Fear not, there are many new interesting features bundled in this summer update from Microsoft. First off, a new Avatar Marketplace will be introduced which will allow gamers to buy clothes for their in-game persona. Yes buy clothes, as in with real money, err Microsoft Points. Real world clothing manufactures will be featured in the Avatar Marketplace, aswell as Microsoft branded items, such as a Halo style top. Other articles of clothing can be unlocked through beating games. 'Props' will also be introduced, such as a remote control car or even possibly a pet animal that can be 'controlled' by your avatar.

Party and Friends List

Next up, Microsoft has introduced a new way to organize your friends list and has refined the party system. Users may now organize their friends list by gamertag (alphabetically), activity, and online status. Also if you or someone else drops out of the party, they can easily and automatically reconnect. Inviting people to the party can now be done through a special menu, with one press of a button you can quickly run down a list of online friends and invite up to eight people in about three or four seconds. A new veteran badge will be added to the top right side of a player's gamertag which displays the number of years the user has been a gold Xbox Live member.

Netflix

Netflix users will benefit a great deal from this new update. Subscribers can now instantly add videos to their queue directly though their Xbox 360. Gold Xbox Live members who wish to watch a movie with friends have had their wish granted. By inviting friends to party, up to four different users may view the same Netflix movie together through Xbox Live.

Games on Demand in the Marketplace and User Ratings

Both gold and silver Xbox Live users can now purchase and download Xbox 360 titles directly through the Games on Demand Marketplace. Game manuals can be downloaded and printed for free through Xbox.com website. Gamers will also be able to rank both full games and arcade titles in a five star rating system. These ranked games can now be sorted and searched for by ratings through the new refined marketplace.

The following games will be available for download on August 11th:

Assassin's Creed (Ubisoft)
BioShock (2K Games) - North America Only
Burnout Paradise (EA)
Call of Duty 2 (Activision)
Dance Dance Revolution Universe (Konami) - North America Only
Fight Night Round 3 (EA)
Kameo: Elements of Power (Microsoft Game Studios)
Karaoke Revolution American Idol Encore (Konami) - North America Only
LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga (LucasArts)
Mass Effect (Microsoft Game Studios)
Meet The Robinsons (Disney)
MX vs. ATV Untamed (THQ)
Need for Speed Carbon (EA)
Need for Speed: Most Wanted (EA)
Perfect Dark Zero (Microsoft Game Studios)
Prey (2K Games)
Rainbow Six Vegas (Ubisoft) - North America Only
ridge racer 6 (Namco) - North America Only
Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis (Rockstar Games)
Sega Rally (Sega) - Europe Only
Sonic the Hedgehod (SEGA) - North America Only
Test Drive: Unlimited (Atari)
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda)
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas (Ubisoft) - Europe Only
Tomb Raider Legend (Eidos) - Europe Only
Viva Piñata (Microsoft Game Studios)
Viva Piñata 2: Trouble in Paradise (Microsoft Game Studios)

Miscellaneous Updates

Display Discovery allows for the highest possible quality of display and audio through an option that allows you to override the default input and select audio and video formats independent of the information your television sends to your Xbox 360 console.Xbox LIVE Community Games has been renamed Xbox LIVE Indie Games.

An Achievements browser which allows you to easily read through all the achievements of a certain game while playing. You can now also launch a game directly from the browser.A new view inside the profile panel which includes a summary of Achievements earned across all the games played, and shows of all your completed games.

Streamlined navigation, including new entry points in the dashboard for Active Downloads, redeeming codes, recovering Gamertags and more.

When recording a voice message, a warning will pop up if no audio is detected.

Time stamps now appear in the memory area in conjunction to your saved games.

If your Xbox LIVE subscription is about to run out, you will now be notified when you sign into Xbox LIVE.

Updates for Invalid Windows Live IDs. If the Windows Live ID you provided has expired, you will now be prompted to update it the next time you sign into Xbox LIVE.

Account recovery process has been made faster and more reliable.

A comprehensive update from Microsoft to say the least, I'll be excited about downloading this one on Tuesday morning.

[Images courtesy of Joystiq.com]

What I've been doing lately... Forza Motorsport 2 and Battlefield 1943

2009-08-08T11:30:00.008-05:00

Well good morning everyone. I hope you all have not been missing the blog too much, because my Xbox 360 sure didn't seem like it was missing me. Well until this week... I've been working my '360' non-stop, it's only allowed to take a nine or ten hour break every night :P

I have rekindled my love for Forza Motorsport 2 last weekend. I had put it down in late 2007 after the release of Call of Duty Modern Warfare and Halo 3. My FM2 disc sat in the corner of my room for nearly two years before I decided it was time to get back to the old days. Dusted her off the other day and decided to give it a go.

I restarted back at career level '0', excited at the fresh 'new game' esque approach I decided to take. I went from having a sluggish Audi TT to compiling a garage full of tuned beasts putting down U999 ratings left and right within a few days. In fact, I was so enthusiastic about Forza 2 that I decided to go right in to pre-order the Limited Edition version of Forza Motorsport 3 at GameStop. Cha ching... there goes eighty six dollas. Wait did I really spend that much for a video game? What? But our economy is really thriving right now isn't it? Dude I'm fine.

With that, I had to break into the three digit mark with my spending for the day. I picked up a 1600 Microsoft Point card to go with my pre-order. Why you ask? Well I had to pay homage to my old love, Battlefield 2: Modern Combat, which was commonly abbreviated as 'BF2MC' (aka intarnetz crack for most who played it). An amazing game really, I may have logged over 650 hours on it total, considering the Playstation 2 and Xbox 360 versions combined. Anyways back to what I was saying, I decided I would try out DICE's new Battlefield 1943 after playing the demo. It cost me 1200 Microsoft Points, or roughly $15 USD. Heck, I said why not. Although I was disappointed by the Battlefield: Bad Company Beta and decided not to pick up the full game, I decided I'd give DICE's new slightly updated 'arcade' version of Bad Company a try.

Battlefield 1943 is a tiny bit different from its predecessor Battlefield: Bad Company. First off, it was set in the WWII timeframe, which provided different guns, scenery, and vehicles. Okay, you could have inferred that from the title, but I thought I might as well point it out. The game engine seemed to be slightly tweaked, slightly closer to BF2MC than Bad Company was, although not very noticeably. The addition of airplanes also intrigued me, as they had not been present in past console Battlefield games. All in all, it was enough to get hooked to log a good fifteen hours on a temporary gold account (technical issues while I was waiting for MS to change my original gamertag to Gold after I had bought and activated a subscription :/ ), and another five on my main gamercard.

With a good twenty hours of gaming time under my belt for Battlefield 1943 over the past week, I think it's time for a review. Look out for a complete review soon and stay posted. You can always follow me on my gaming adventures through Twitter!

It has been a while...

2009-08-07T13:21:00.005-05:00

Ah yes the x360n.com blog. Well I'll be brutally honest, I've been very busy over the course of the last year and a half. So much so that I, obviously, failed to find time to update our beloved blog. Yes I did manage to check up on her every month or so, but I had no time to continue the epic blogging greatness that we had bestowed upon our readers in the time before. So I thought, it's probably better to not post anything then to post something useless. With that went all these months of nothingness, until today, a special day, a day where the x360n blog will be brought back to life.

Hurrah!

Okay, let's be honest. We have a lot of ground to make up in the coming weeks. There are some huge release dates looming on the calendar. Let's take a quick look...

Madden NFL 10
Guitar Hero 5
The Beatles: Rock Band
Halo 3: ODST
Forza Motorsport 3
Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City
Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony
Battlefield Bad Company 2
Section 8
Bioshock 2
Modern Warfare 2(Call of Duty)
Mass Effect 2
Modern Warefare 2

Huge huge huge list folks, and I'm only talking about the Xbox 360 here.

Anyways I will be looking to spruce things up around here, the first thing on my mind is to provide some previews and reviews on the games listed above. I will also be looking to add another blogger to the x360n team, so keep your eyes out for a new member to the team my friends.

Oh and I just got an updated Xbox360 Voice Blog, courtesy of 360Voice.com

I have had one in the past but it stopped updating once I changed my gamertag. You can check my new one out here.

That is all for today :)

Happy New Years

2008-01-01T11:52:00.000-06:00

Everyone from the x360n.com staff (Yes all three of us) would like to celebrate and congratulate everyone on a new year. We will be adding many new articles to the blog so please try to keep posted. Again we wish everyone a safe and happy New Year! 2008!

Half Life 2: The Orange Box - Reader Review

2007-10-23T21:27:00.000-05:00

The Orange Box was released on October 10, and is the greatest video game deal to date. the Orange Box includes, Half-Life 2, HL: episodes 1 and 2, Portal, and Team Fortress 2.

The Main Part of this game is Half-Life 2. Half-Life 2 is a 3 year old game from valve in which the player controls Gordan Freeman, the scientist that unleashed an alien world on the Earth in Half-Life. The game picks up a few years after the events in Half-Life 1, and has you in a desperate race to reach the citadel, when the main bad guy is controlling and negotiating with the enemy. You will receive multiple weapons through the course of the game including a shotgun, SMG, a Gravity gun, and a crowbar. The enemies you encounter range from simple pawns, to epic fights for survival. This portion the game will take you anywhere from 8 to 10 hours to complete, and can be revisited to unlock hidden and well placed achievements.

In Half-Life episodes 1 and 2, you continue off of the ending of Half-Life, desperately trying to end the alien menace, from destroying the rest of humans population. These episodes are more 'vehicle' based, but are a joy to play through. In Half-Life 2: Episode 2, a sense of humor is unreleased, and takes away the stress of some of your objectives. The 2 episodes will add another 8-10 hours to the already lengthy FPS.

Portal, is an interesting game, included exclusively in the Orange Box. In it you control a test subject, trying to experiment with seemingly inescapable situations. The game play is very smooth, and the voice acting is spot-on. It is a fantastic comical adventure, as well as a well creed First-person puzzler. the game take you through 11 chapters, consisting of 1 or 2 puzzles each. The ending is a surprise, and comes a little too quickly. The game can be finished in only about 3-4 hours time. However, you will have a blast every moment that it has.

finally, Team Fortress 2, the sequel to the grand-daddy of Class-based online FPS(es), is here. The game has taken on a very cartoony art direction, but does not take away from the pure enjoyment of the experience. There are many classes to choose from, including a scout, an engineer, a spy, and a heavy assault. The game only has 6 maps, and you will see everything, in a matter of 2 hours. But the pure addictive nature of the game, and the clever jokes put into the core game play are fun to see and experience.

Overall, the Orange Box, is the greatest deal you will find this year, and as something for everyone. If you are into puzzlers, first-person shooters, or online mayhem, this is defiantly worth a buy.

- Review by PawnagE

EA Fifa Soccer 08 Review

2007-10-13T13:29:00.001-05:00

Its been a few days since Fifa 08 has been on store shelves, well at least in the States, and I am happy to report I have obtained a copy and have been playing non stop since. But I decided to drop the controller for a little bit to give our favorite readers a little review.

First off you will notice the same 'Arena Mode' from the previous installment, which is really fun I must admit. The same menu interface as the last series which was pretty sleek is still present. You will quickly notice though, that there have been many new game modes added such as Create a Tournament, 'Be a Pro Mode', and the Interactive Online Leagues. Speaking of leagues, EA has finally added a respectable amount of over 30 teams and a whole haystack of teams. The team squads are updated pretty accurately, and you can automatically update them with a download from the main menu through XBL if you somehow fall behind in the Transfer market. Although I admit I was disappointed with the absence of Denilson from FC Dallas' roster.

The game play has been completely revamped, and made much more realistic. Your shots become less accurate if you are sprinting, passes are tougher to complete if you are facing away from your target, player and ball physics have been fixed for the better. In addition to this, you can now pull off a plethora of 'freestyle' tricks by holding down the 'L Trigger' and moving the right analogue stick. This allows for some crazy combinations while dribbling in game.

Most of the things present in '07 are back this year, including Challenge Mode, Fifa Lounge, Online Play, Manager Mode, and the Fifa Shop. This years installment finally allows Fifa 08 to be the first true 'Next Gen' soccer game. Despite PES' efforts, I honestly Fifa has gotten the better of the franchise this year. I highly recommended game to all soccer fans, if you are still skeptical, you can try a rent first, you will definitely wont regret it.

Halo 3 Almost a Week Away

2007-09-16T18:28:00.000-05:00

The game that everyone has been waiting for is just a few days away, with almost 2 million copies pre-ordered, Halo 3 has created the biggest buzz for a game to date. Almost all Halo fans are counting down 'till September 25th, the day the game is supposed to hit shelves in 3 different editions, Normal, Limited, and Legendary Edition.

Although many will be camping out to the get the game at exactly 12AM, some avid players report they have already got their hands on the game. Though it has been said a few have already been caught, and handed a ban until 9999. With this said, its obvious everyone is very excited, I am not the biggest halo fan but I was glad I pre-ordered... I'll see everyone September 25th, but until then I will be playing the Call Of Duty 4 Beta :P.

Its been a busy few weeks...

2007-08-18T14:55:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone,
Both I and my co-authors have both been very busy over the last few weeks. I have struggled with the dreaded 3 red lights while my co-writers have both been busy moving homes. Just thought I would post another update to let everyone know whats going on. The 360 has a HUGE game line up for this fall, so we will be sure to keep you updated in the coming weeks. Lastly I am working on a complete Xbox 360 Repair Guide which will be used to help the many of you owners who don't want too/can't send your system in for repairs. Thats about all I have to say, have a great weekend.
- Baked

Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights coming to Xbox 360

2007-07-27T18:58:00.000-05:00

THQ will be releasing their next up and coming game, Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights, next month. With the demo on the marketplace, we decided to check it out. The first thing you will notice is that the game is primarily focused at the arcade/street racer crowd. Simulation aspects are no where as deep as a racing game such as Forza. That being said, there is nothing wrong with the games style of play.

You can start out with countries from all corners of the world including Japanese tuner cars to good ole' American muscle. You can tune your car and add accessories and decals to customize to your liking. As you race you will go head to head with other racers, battling it out for respect, money, and of course each other's cars. The game takes a small fork in the path from the recently released Need For Speed games, but it will hopefully be exciting none the less. With other major racing titles coming out this year including PGR4 and Pro street, It will be interesting too see how everything turns out.

Ace Combat 6 Demo comes to Xbox 360

2007-07-19T08:00:00.000-05:00

Last week Microsoft added the Ace Combat 6 Demo in the marketplace during E3. We decided to download it and check it out.

Namco has made a few noticeable improvements on the flight sim. Notably including better plan dynamics, realistic accelerating/decelerating, better damage recognition, and a camera tracker of your current target.

We started up the demo with the default given aircraft, an F15. A beginning cut scene showed the Protagonist's base/city being attacked by bombers. Then planes scramble into the air and you are briefed to destroy the enemy bombers and escorts... Typical AC Intro mission eh? Once you have destroyed all the enemy bombers (TGT) then you are greeted with a little fun surprise, a mission update.

Overall we thought that Namco has put a lot of hard work into AC6. Everything from the scenery detail, to the contrails of enemy aircraft, the way your missiles look real when they are fired, and who can forget the explosions.

We are very excited to see Namco's final product when it hits store shelves this Fall.

The Long Road Home

2007-07-14T18:14:00.000-05:00

Thanks to all of our readers for supporting us for our first opening week! I have been really busy the last few days with packing and making final plans for my trip back home (which mind you takes more than a whole day until I get to the final destination). Anyways I will be leaving in about exactly a day from when I will post this article. I'll see everyone then, and my xbox 360 misses me... hope it doesn't have 3 red lights :/.

Our friends and affiliates...

2007-07-12T10:33:00.007-05:00

Okay so in order to get the word about the x360n blog, we had to take the time to connect with other webmasters who wanted to get the word out about their respective sites. Feel free to check them out:

Blogs:
Links/Webpages:
Hotel deals
Skoobe Link Directory
Big Video Game Directory
Blogs Directory
Super Blog Directory
Gaming Blog Directory

If you would like to add your website to our Link directory, please add http://www.x360n.com as a link on your webpage and email us or leave a comment below.

Thank you,
BakEd
x360n.com

Half Life 2: The Orange/Black Box [Game Details] Xbox 360 / PS3 / PC

2007-07-11T23:08:00.000-05:00

The beginning to the popular series, Half-Life, was released October 31, 1998 for the PC and was considered one of the best games in it's time. 6 years later, the sequel was released and was also praised for it's awesome graphics and realistic physics followed by the next installment, Half-life 2: Episode One. And, on October 9th, 2007, Half-Life 2: The Orange/Black Box will be released for the PC, Xbox 360, and PS3.

The box will include Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One, and Half-Life Episode Two, Portal, and Team Fortress 2. Half-Life 2, Half-life 2 Episode One, and Half-life 2 Episode Two features former Black Mesa scientist, Gordan Freeman going through the ruined city of City 17, the wastelands outside the cities, and the infected city of Ravenholm. In the game, you will fight the mawmen (zombies), barnacles and headcrabs (headhoppers) from the original Half-Life along with new creatures such as ant lions, Combine soilders, poison headcrabs, poison mawmen, super headcrabs, and super mawmen. You fight with other members from Black Mesa and Alyx Vance. And yes, it has the Gravity Gun.

In Portal, an innovative puzzle game by Valve, you are a test subject in the Aperture Science Enrichment Center. As a test subject, it is your job to, with the use of the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device, complete numerous tasks to get through obsticles. The portal gun can pick up items and has the ability to shoot out small portals in which you can walk or jump
through. The obsticles you face in Portal are machine guns, large gaps, and unclimbable walls.
The Portal gun is also used to manipulate other objects, such as cubes or flying spheres, to knock over or activate other objects.

Here are some screenshots of the Portal

Team Fortress 2 is another game many are looking forward, too. With it's massive online play and many character classes, Team Fortress 2 might be one of the best online games for the Xbox 360. There are many enhancements to the other Team Fortress, such as ammo closets placed in

spawning rooms to restock on ammo and other items, critical hits, the ability to spectate game rooms, different survivability for different classes, and enhanced rules of play in capture the flag and control point match. There are 9 confirmed classes in Team Fortress 2, including demomen, engineers, heavy weapons, medics, pyros, scouts, snipers, soldiers, and spies. For more information about Team Fortress 2, be sure to check out the interview with Valve Engineer Robin Walker, Project Lead Charlie Brown, and Marketing Director Doug Lombardi.

The game has yet to be rated.

Also be sure to check out the Team Fortress 2 Interview on IGN Here.

- Article Written By HermieKrab

Xbox 360 Chatpad Messenger Kit Announced [Details]

2007-07-10T20:44:00.001-05:00

After looking over a few posts on xbox.com, I found an interesting article about the Xbox 360 Chatpad Add-on. The mini keyboard attachment for the 360's controller was originally announced back in May, but now Microsoft has posted further details as well as a product page on its site which can be read here.

The Chatpad will be used in conjunction with the 360's Windows Messenger capabilities. The Chatpad will be bundled in the 'Messenger Kit' which includes a headset for $29.99 USD. Microsoft announced the bundle will go on sale starting September 4th.

Bioshock Xbox 360 Preview

2007-07-09T20:41:00.000-05:00

Bioshock is an alternate reality, next-gen first-person shooter. Developed by Irrational games, and published by 2K games, the game is set after WWII, after the Eutopia of Rapture (built as a safe haven for many of the worlds leading scientists and artistic minds in 1946) collapses after genetically altered beings create a civil war within the Eutopia.

Bioshock is purely choic driven, and results in many possible endings. For example, the goal of the game is to collect as many samples of ADAM (the genetic mutation formula) while maintaining a moralistic nature. Little sisters contain a healthy supply, but increases the difficulty of "Big Daddy's" to kill. In addition, the AI adapts to the environment, making them
impossible to predict.

You are a plane crash survivor, lost in the ocean. you stumble upon a lighthouse that has a shaft that travels down to the utopia. As you travel throughout the Eutopia, you discover many bizarre civilians roaming the area. The Environment is fully destructible and can be used to the players advantage, i.e. smokescreen from a fire extinguisher, sparks from electrical units.

The weaponry in the games fully customizable and allows for specific advantages. As you collect ADAM, you have the ability to create certain shots for yourself that allow you to create organic weaponry, give you special powers like invisibility, and allows you to alter the environment.

There is no plan on multiplayer, but there are plans for downloadable themes, pics, and areas to explore. there are no set prices on these objects. finally a collector's edition available that will include a Big Daddy figurine, the game's soundtrack, and a "Making of" DVD.

The Game is Scheduled for an August 21st release and will be rated "M" for mature for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Sexual themes, and Drug Reference.

(Click preview image to open the actual full resolution screenshot)

(Image courtesy of IGN.com)

- Article Written By PawnagE