Joystiq [Xbox]

Call us foolish, but walking into the Bungie demonstration of Halo 3: ODST at E3 last week, we had no idea that the main campaign mode consisted of, more or less, a sandbox environment. Truth be told, we knew of stealth bits and that, as per the title of the game, there was something to do with Orbital Drop Shock Troopers in the story, but not much else.

Bungie's Lars Bakken commandeered "the rookie" -- the character you'll basically use as a vehicle through New Mombasa's variety of flashback missions -- introducing us to the character in an opening cutscene rather reminiscent of previous Halo games from a style perspective. We are introduced to "Dutch" early on, the subject of our one guided flashback mission of the walkthrough, who's a bit of a fast-talking hardass, as ODSTs are wont to be.

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This is going to be the easiest preview ever. Though Tim Schafer calls Brütal Legend the most personal game he's ever done, it's possibly the most widely, inescapably appealing project he's been involved with. I don't need to champion the amazing band of kids at Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp or Manny and the delightful denizens of the underworld this time. We're talking about a hilarious, open-ended heavy metal epic starring Jack Black. Do you really need me to tell you it's awesome?

Because, you know, it is.

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Following our extended look of the Alan Wake demo showcased at Microsoft's E3 2009 keynote, Remedy lead writer Sam Lake took a moment to answer our questions regarding the evolution of the title, since it was first announced in 2005.

"We have been in the fortunate position where we've had time to do research and do prototypes ... keep the quality bar high and explore, until we find the right combination of different elements," Lake said. "Things have evolved along the way. This is an action game, but there is a lot of variety." Lake also explained that Alan Wake will feature segments of gameplay during daytime sequences, which will allow players to explore and interact with the "quirky locals" of Bright Falls. According to Lake, the day and night cycle is governed by the game's linear storyline.

Lake also made it clear his team is no stranger to the perception that Remedy Entertainment had been taking their time bringing Alan Wake's debut adventure to players. "Remedy is not a factory," Lake said. "We take our time and try out different things until we feel have found the right combination and a good balance for the game." Alan Wake is scheduled to release in Spring 2010.

Samurai Shodown: Edge of Destiny, the latest in SNK's long-lived weapons-based fighting game series, feels totally different from its predecessors. The K2-developed fighter doesn't just add 3D graphics to the series more successfully than the version on the short-lived Hyper Neo Geo 64 system -- it adds some 3D movement as well, in the form of a dodge move.

During our quick match, Ignition's Shane Bettenhausen described it as "Samurai Shodown meets Soul Calibur meets Bushido Blade," a classification that aptly encapsulates some of the changes in the game.

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We'll admit, we were starting to get a little worried about Brutal Legend after Activision sued to stop the sale of the game last week. But after watching this new trailer for the game (entitled "Rock Gods") we find that our faith has been renewed.

Seriously, look at the thing! Look at how hard the game is rocking! You think mere lawyers can stop a game like that? ... No, we thought not.

After sifting through the hyperbole of other previews for this game, we walked into our eyes-only preview of Just Cause 2 as professional skeptics. Well color us pleasantly surprised. After spending a few minutes watching Just Cause 2 in action (running on the Xbox 360) we cannot wait to see more of the game. Developed by the team at Avalanche Studios and now planned for a 2010 release, Just Cause 2 picks up where the original left off -- players once again take on the role of Rico Rodriguez, this time forced to hunt down his friend and former mentor Tom Sheldon.

Sporting a completely overhauled engine and intelligent design decisions, Just Cause 2 isn't your average sandbox action game -- it's what Grand Theft Auto would be if it made sweet love to Bionic Commando.

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Following our eyes-only demo of Alan Wake, Remedy lead writer Sam Lake explained the game's levels are structured like a television series season. "The story is divided into episodes," Lake told the small group of journalists viewing the extended Microsoft E3 2009 keynote demo. Prior to the beginning of each level the game will showcase a video Lake described as a "Previously On... segment," to remind players of the important story elements from previous episodes and what relates to the next level the player will experience -- which sounds identical to the storytelling mechanic in Atari's Alone in the Dark.

"It's not a level based game," Lake told the group. "We have a large game world, but the story guides you. So, there is a logical pathway for the player." Lake also explained that, while Alan Wake will tell one linear story, the game will feature "a lot of exploration" for players interested in "digging deeper" into the back story of the universe.

How much will you pay for 15 new events in Burnout Paradise? Criterion is hoping the answer is $12.99 (£9.99), because that's what it's charging for the upcoming Big Surf Island DLC pack, available this Thursday. Interestingly, those who use Microsoft Magic Money™ get a slightly cheaper option at 1000.

It's certainly not as costly as some on the Joystiq team feared, but it's also far from an immediate impulse buy. While we understand Criterion wants to "make money" and "feed the family," we lament the long-gone days of free Burnout DLC.

Lead designer Tom French calls this world "Disneyland Paris." That's not exactly what came to mind as I jumped from rooftop to rooftop dodging Nazis, machine gun fire, and rockets, but French wasn't characterizing this bleak, occupied (and dangerous) World War II-era recreation of the city. The Saboteur features a scaled down, open-world Paris with oversize landmarks splitting the skyline (like Disneyland!) that trails off into countryside connected to parts of Germany.

The entire world has been stripped of color, save for those blood-red symbols of Nazism and oppression. As Sean Devlin (inspired by the real Grand Prix star turned SOE special agent William Grover-Williams), I attempted to bring a little color -- what Pandemic calls "Will to Fight" -- back to Paris as I took on a demo mission to destroy a pesky BFG.

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Microsoft – the manufacturer of the RRoD-prone Xbox 360 – has confirmed to Joystiq that it's discontinued its policy of providing a prepaid box with shipping label, more commonly referred to as the "coffin," for all Xbox 360 repairs. As of May 26 the policy was discontinued "in an effort to expedite the repair process." Customers will have the option of receiving an e-label to slap on the box they ship their bricked consoles in, but the days of the "coffin" are now over. A Microsoft spokesperson tell us, "Customers can now ship their consoles themselves using an e-label provided by Microsoft and do not need to wait for an empty box to be shipped to them."

Apparently Microsoft's accountants were getting tired of that budget line item signifying thousands of dollars spent on providing cardboard boxes to the millions of consumers with defective units (often multiple times). We likely should have seen the writing on the wall when we recently contacted Microsoft to find out what recourse customers had if customer service wasn't offering coffins.

Our advice: Mail it to Microsoft in whatever packaging you've got lying around (remember: they're going to fix it regardless) and save the special, custom-fit packaging they mail it back to you in. Odds are you'll use it again.

One of the more interesting questions that arose from Microsoft's keynote during last week's E3 was just how Last.fm would be implemented. Well, let Joystiq help clear the air of confusion, as Microsoft has dished out some screens depicting the interface for the soon-to-be Xbox 360-compatible music service. It looks pretty streamlined, if we may say so, with easily identifiable links to tags and artists similar to what you're currently listening to.

What we didn't know, however, is that Last.fm will also be a bridge between the Xbox 360 and its closest competitor, Sony's PS3. See the "Play Station" above? When the service releases, you'll be able to play Infamous on your Xbox 360. For reals!

Major Nelson brings word of another bad deal for Xbox's "deal of the week." The latest laughable offer is that the Gears of War 2 Combustible map pack is discounted from 800 ($10) to the jaw-dropping price of 560 ($7). Hold on, let us get the Sham Wow to absorb the drool of shock dribbling out of our mouths.

So, basically, if you haven't downloaded any of the new Gears of War 2 map packs yet, going online and downloading them breaks down like this:

• Combustible maps (560 / $7) - available now
• Snowblind maps (800 / $10) - available now
  
• Dark Corners (1200 / $15) - available July 28
  

That comes to a grand total of $32 dollars, $12 more expensive than purchasing All Fronts, which includes all of this stuff (and more!) for 1600 ($20) when it releases July 28. It's a sucker punch (not the good kind) for this content to go on sale now.

[Add the Gears 2: Combustible Multiplayer Map Pack to your download queue ... although we recommend you don't.]

Sony and Microsoft both had something up their sleeves when it came to motion-based controls at this year's E3, revealing a new controller and Project Natal, respectively. Nintendo has been doing it since late 2006, but this year, both Sony and Microsoft have hopped on the waggle bandwagon. Games analyst Michael Pachter told Edge that despite these new product announcements, Nintendo really has nothing to worry about.

"We do not expect either to displace Nintendo's Wii from its leadership position," Pachter said. He went on further to say that Microsoft's Natal is really only aimed toward interface improvement, and that Sony's new controller is simply "Wii-nis envy," justifying his company's opinion that the Wii will still be the top console for a long time. We're inclined to agree, mostly because Sony and Microsoft's new products won't be on store shelves for quite some time.

Gearbox has confirmed its casual E3 mention to Joystiq that it plans to release Borderlands this October. A company representative told us today that it's looking forward to breaking new ground this fall when the "role-playing shooter with strong co-op and split-screen gameplay" is released. The rep also confirmed that the post-apocalyptic action game will launch simultaneously on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

Borderlands had been banging around for a while, then disappeared for an awkward period of time before ultimately reemerging – think: butterfly – with a new art style, which freshened up the title and removed it from "Fallout clone" territory. We'll have our E3 impression of the title up soon.