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1 vs. 100 Season 2 details dished on dev blog
by Ben Gilbert 
{ Oct 29th 2009 at 2:45PM }
For one, rather than Avatars amorphously apparating on-stage, "The One" will strut down a central staircase right after dropping a fancy pose on the plebeians below. Players in the hot seat will also have their Xbox Live statuses automatically set to "Busy," so as not to knock their concentration from the mind grape squeezing at hand. No details were revealed on when we might actually get to play more 1 vs. 100, unfortunately.
[Via Destructoid]
Xbox 360 'Games on Demand' priced between $20-$30
by Alexander Sliwinski { Aug 5th 2009 at 9:58PM }
-- that's $20-30 in American credit card currency. We got a little curious after one price was revealed in a video earlier today, but we wanted to make sure about the rest.We're currently working on getting the full list of prices for each game, but all will be revealed next week when the latest dashboard update goes live, on August 11.
Interview: Last.fm on Xbox Live
by Kevin Kelly { Jul 28th 2009 at 12:45PM }
Gallery: Last.fm (Xbox 360)
Dude, give me a fist bump: Madden 10 demo up now on Xbox Live
by Alexander Sliwinski { Jul 23rd 2009 at 11:30AM }
Gallery: Madden 10
Interview: Xbox Live on Last.fm
by Kevin Kelly { Jul 22nd 2009 at 8:00PM }
We've already reported on the planned Last.fm pricing, but read on after the break for DeRosa's take on the Xbox side of things, including her thoughts on a Pandora partnership, how Xbox will enhance Last.fm (Party Mode?), and where the service fits into the Xbox Live music channel that's in the works. (One interesting note: Xbox says that the console won't audio scrobble, while Last.fm says it will. We've reached out to both parties in search of a definitive answer.)
Update: Microsoft got back to us with the following information, "We circled back on this one and can confirm that music played in other parts of the dash will not be scrobbled. In other words, you can't put in an audio CD and scrobble." So, that's a bit of a bummer.
Gallery: Last.fm (Xbox 360)
Tour de France 2009: The Official Game pedals onto Xbox Live
by Kevin Kelly { Jul 15th 2009 at 1:20AM }
($10) . Who needs all that real legwork anyhow?Cyanide Studios, the brains behind the recent Blood Bowl and the popular-in-some-other-country Cycling Manager series must have been quietly working on this in their spare time, because it caught all of us off-guard, including Xbox Live's Major Nelson. But why not release this game just before the actual Tour de France, instead of smack dab in the middle of it? We may never know.
You can play two players locally, and race up to four simultaneously on Xbox Live using one of the official teams in the current race. We just wish they would have included a drug testing minigame or something -- you know, to add some realism. Catch all the pedal-pumping power in the preview trailer right here.
JBO: Joystiq Box Office, July 6 - July 10
by Kevin Kelly { Jul 10th 2009 at 8:15PM }
We can't be gaming all the time, despite our best efforts, and from time to time we'll actually take advantage of the movie-playing abilities on our gaming systems. JBO features our top picks for XBL, PSN, Netflix's Watch Instantly and Blu-ray each week.
Recommendation of the Week:
Let The Right One In (480 to rent HD, 320 to rent SD): Saria the Cat and our own David Hinkle suggested Let The Right One In in our first JBO post, and it's definitely worth our official stamp of approval. Probably one of the best vampire movies you'll ever see. It's subtitled, but don't let that turn you off. There's a scene near the end that makes it worth all that reading, and then some. It's a good example of how foreign films have pulled far ahead of American movies in the storytelling department.
Read for the full list on a system-by-system basis just after the break. As usual, we'll see you at the popcorn st ... well, actually we won't see you at all. But you catch our drift. Plus, be sure to tell us what you'll be watching, or what you've seen recently that bowled you over.
Recommendation of the Week:
Let The Right One In (480 to rent HD, 320 to rent SD): Saria the Cat and our own David Hinkle suggested Let The Right One In in our first JBO post, and it's definitely worth our official stamp of approval. Probably one of the best vampire movies you'll ever see. It's subtitled, but don't let that turn you off. There's a scene near the end that makes it worth all that reading, and then some. It's a good example of how foreign films have pulled far ahead of American movies in the storytelling department.Read for the full list on a system-by-system basis just after the break. As usual, we'll see you at the popcorn st ... well, actually we won't see you at all. But you catch our drift. Plus, be sure to tell us what you'll be watching, or what you've seen recently that bowled you over.
JBO: Joystiq Box Office, June 29 - July 3
by Kevin Kelly { Jul 3rd 2009 at 8:30PM }
We can't be gaming all the time, despite our best efforts, and from time to time we'll actually take advantage of the movie-playing abilities on our gaming systems. JBO features our top picks for XBL, PSN, Netflix's Watch Instantly, and Blu-ray each week.
Recommendation of the Week:
Sunshine (Blu-ray: $29.99): We all know about Danny Boyle and Slumdog Millionaire; winning a few Oscars will do that to your movie, particularly if it's great. However, his sci-fi masterpiece Sunshine is severely underrated and underwatched. The Sun becomes an ominous character in this taut thriller, which, granted, has a plot point that could be completely jettisoned to make for a perfectly streamlined film. However, the sound, the action, and the attention to detail in this movie make this a must see in HD.
Read for the full list on a system by system basis just after the break, this time with a bent toward the upcoming Independence Day holiday this Saturday. As usual, we'll see you at the popcorn st ... well, actually we won't see you at all. But you catch our drift.
Recommendation of the Week:
Sunshine (Blu-ray: $29.99): We all know about Danny Boyle and Slumdog Millionaire; winning a few Oscars will do that to your movie, particularly if it's great. However, his sci-fi masterpiece Sunshine is severely underrated and underwatched. The Sun becomes an ominous character in this taut thriller, which, granted, has a plot point that could be completely jettisoned to make for a perfectly streamlined film. However, the sound, the action, and the attention to detail in this movie make this a must see in HD.Read for the full list on a system by system basis just after the break, this time with a bent toward the upcoming Independence Day holiday this Saturday. As usual, we'll see you at the popcorn st ... well, actually we won't see you at all. But you catch our drift.
Last.fm on XBL: free to gold subscribers, 3 hours per month for others
by Kevin Kelly { Jun 30th 2009 at 7:45PM }
"Silver users will be able access what we're considering a trial period of three hours a month, which comes with video advertising. Gold users will have unlimited ad-supported access, so they can use it 24 hours a day. There will also be a premium offering on a subscription basis from Last.fm, that will be commercial free and will also have more sophisticated personalization features, like Loved Tracks."
Last.fm's subscription prices are currently $3.00 US (€3 EU or £3 GBP) per month, so you'll have to shell out an additional $36 a year if you want to avoid the ads and have full access to their service. You'll also need a Last.fm account, in case you haven't set one up already. Luckily, that part is free.
Gallery: Last.fm (Xbox 360)
JBO: Joystiq Box Office, June 22 - 26
by Kevin Kelly { Jun 26th 2009 at 10:15PM }
We can't be gaming all the time, despite our best efforts, and from time to time we'll actually take advantage of the movie-playing abilities on our gaming systems. JBO features our top picks for XBL, PSN, Netflix's Watch Instantly, and Blu-ray each week.
Recommendation of the Week:
The Girlfriend Experience (XBL to rent: 480 MS points for HD, 320 for SD): Steven Soderbergh returns to his indie film roots with this character study that was shot on one of the new RedOne HD cameras for only $1.3 million dollars. Real-life porn star Sasha Grey stars as Christine; an escort who offers the full "Girlfriend Experience" for a high price. Her boyfriend is okay with the arrangement on the surface, but underneath he's struggling. The film follows both of them as they deal with the reality of her job, and how they each handle the repercussions.
Read for the full list on a system by system basis just after the break. As usual, we'll see you at the popcorn st ... well, actually we won't see you at all. But you catch our drift.
Recommendation of the Week:
The Girlfriend Experience (XBL to rent: 480 MS points for HD, 320 for SD): Steven Soderbergh returns to his indie film roots with this character study that was shot on one of the new RedOne HD cameras for only $1.3 million dollars. Real-life porn star Sasha Grey stars as Christine; an escort who offers the full "Girlfriend Experience" for a high price. Her boyfriend is okay with the arrangement on the surface, but underneath he's struggling. The film follows both of them as they deal with the reality of her job, and how they each handle the repercussions.Read for the full list on a system by system basis just after the break. As usual, we'll see you at the popcorn st ... well, actually we won't see you at all. But you catch our drift.
Mass Effect pops up early on XBL Games on Demand service
by Ben Gilbert { Jun 20th 2009 at 11:30AM }
As 360sync.com rightfully points out, game manuals will be provided virtually through the Xbox.com Marketplace website according to the listing, so you've got that going for ya (which is nice). We're not sure when these puppies are showin' up on XBL for sure, but from the looks of things, we'd say sooner rather than later. For a video tour of the upcoming Games on Demand service, hit the break.
[Via 360sync]
Red Faction: Guerrilla MP demo now available for everyone
by Justin McElroy { May 21st 2009 at 10:30AM }
If our mom was on the level (it would be quite the anomaly) and you have a blast, you'll be able to pick up the full game on June 2.
New F.E.A.R. 2 DLC, 'Armored Front' coming May 21
by Justin McElroy { May 14th 2009 at 11:15PM }
But are you still playing F.E.A.R. 2 multiplayer? Or could Warner Bros. just as productively upload these maps to the darkest recesses of space? Speak up in the comments.
NCAA Football 10 adds two new modes to pigskin playground
by Kevin Kelly { May 13th 2009 at 10:00PM }
New to 10 only on the PS3 and Xbox 360 editions will be Season Showdown, where you compete for credits over a four-month long competition by playing games with your chosen team on or offline and answering trivia questions on EA's website. You can also lose points in the Sportmanship category where doing things like going for it on 4th down when you're on your own 10 yard line or kicking an onside kick actually subtract from your credit bank. What about winning one for the gipper?
Also new to the PS3/Xbox versions is TeamBuilder, where you can create your own team by importing your own logos, customizing everything like the uniforms, the stadiums and of course the rosters, where apparently LSU defensive back Tyson Andrus is a white guy. You'll be able to upload your created teams to the EA server, and you can also download any other created teams. We smell a Team Joystiq coming, complete with our old Pong-style logo.
Gallery: NCAA Football 10
Xbox Live deal of the week: NBA Live 09 subscription
by Ben Gilbert { Apr 27th 2009 at 2:30PM }
($7), down from the usual 800 ($10). What does, however, make the now bargain-priced content less valuable, is the impending end of the 2009-2010 NBA season and the relative uselessness of the feature during the off-season.For a feature that touts "updated player trades, injured players, free agent signings, starting lineups, as well as hot and cold streaks of players," buying the DLC at this moment, just months from the end of the NBA season, might not be the most fiscally responsible idea. How is EA Sports going to push all those hot, up-to-the-minute statistics to you when there isn't a season to push out?
[Thanks, Samit!]
