It has been recently discovered that the way you browse through Xbox Live Arcade games will change … as soon as next week. The Bi annual dashboard update for Xbox 360 hasn’t shed to much light but word is, is that the first part is right around the corner. Destination Arcade will be the new visual browser for everything XBLA including a new recommendation engine that’ll let you search by price, community star rating and new releases by news feed.
We will have all the details of the service once it goes up, for now you can check out a sneak peak of pics of what it will actually look like.
Harmonix puts out their second artist exclusive Rock Band with Green Day. Be mindful that this is not a sequel to Rock Band 2 but more of a homage game similar to the Beatles Rock Band which was released last year. If your a fan of the punk rock band Green Day or have listened to a lot of their music growing up, then your going to enjoy this game.
The game revolves around the multi-platinum selling and Grammy Award-winning band Green Day in three iconic periods in their careers. Dookie, American Idiot and 21 Century Breakdown in 3 different venues. 47 tracks span that collection and six more that can be purchased via DLC in Rock Band 2. New motion cap technology is also used for the band, giving each song thats played in the specific venue a unique feel. Compared to other Rock Bands, this one feels a little light on content, especially since the band has had a successful career across all albums and all are memorable. More venues and a bigger set list would have been just the right touch to make the game totally worth while.
Green Day Rock Band offers a good variety of play between the instruments. If your looking for a challenge then you’ll find one here. Although I wasn’t a huge fan of Green Day growing up, I did however enjoy their music and have surprisingly listened to a lot of it. With that said I enjoyed the nostalgia and many of the songs are fun to even sing along with. There are a number of unlockables like Beatles Rock Band which are photos and unreleased footage. The game can also be played online, up to 6 players and has leader board tracking as well.
It’s really a no brainer here, if you like Green Day and Rock Band then this game was made to be in your collection! If you like either or then some fun can be had here. For $9.99 you can export the entire track list onto Rock Band 2 or 3 when it becomes available if thats your preference. Extra content like photos, deleted footage and easter eggs that only Green Day fans would know scattered across the game are a nice touch as well. The shear level of detail that was put into the Beatles Rock Band isn’t here but then again you would be getting this for the love of Green Day and this game has a lot of that.
Microsoft Game Studios and developer Vector Unit today announced that Hydro Thunder Hurricane, the Xbox LIVE Arcade-exclusive sequel to the legendary Midway speedboat racing arcade game, will be released on July 28 as part of Xbox LIVE’s Summer of Arcade promotion. Hydro Thunder Hurricane is the first official sequel to the classic Midway hit Hydro Thunder, which splashed into arcades and consoles over 10 years ago. Rather than simply recreate the original game with updated graphics, Vector Unit has delivered an all-new game engine for the sequel, with gorgeous HD visuals and amazing dynamic water physics.
The downloadable game features 8 all new interactive race tracks, new Single Player game modes, Xbox LIVE Leaderboard challenges, as well as robust multiplayer support for 8 players online, local split screen races with up to 4 players and a combination of split screen and online play. Fans will recognize favorite speedboats from the original Hydro Thunder: Razorback, Damn the Torpedoes, Tidal Blade, Rad Hazard and others return with beautifully redesigned models, multiple unlockable skins, and articulated boost animations with massive rockets folding out from hidden compartments. Race tracks are all original, but packed with the kinds of shortcuts and spectacular surprises the series is known for. Hydro Thunder Hurricane will be released on July 28, 2010, exclusively on Xbox LIVE Arcade. The game will sell for 1200 Microsoft Points.
Summer is in full swing and the only thing more blistering then the July sun, is the guitar solos, drum fills and vocal ranges in the 12 new additions to the Guitar Hero music library. Compatible with both Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero, as well as forward compatible with Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock when it’s released this fall. These latest additions to the music library will feature tracks from GRAMMY Hall of Fame Award winners Queen, heavy metal rockers Avenged Sevenfold and Disturbed, and the Guitar Hero debut of hard rock band, Shinedown.
To kick things off, world-renowned British rock band, Queen, returns to Guitar Hero with an all-new three song track pack that will satisfy both Queen and Guitar Hero fans alike. Available for download beginning today. The Queen 2 Track Pack will feature three of their biggest hits, including “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” “Killer Queen” and “Somebody To Love.” Before American rock band Avenged Sevenfold rips it up in the on-disc set list for Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, when it hits stores this September, they’ll first bring three killer tracks to the Guitar Hero music library on July 13. The Avenged Sevenfold Track Pack will allow fans to shred along with three hit singles, “Afterlife,” “Almost Easy” and “Scream,” from their self-titled, fourth studio album..
Gamers looking to experience the hard rock, musical stylings of Disturbed should grab their axes, drumsticks and microphones and get ready for the Disturbed Track Pack on July 20. Which features “Down With The Sickness,” the second single off their debut album, The Sickness, joins “Stricken,” the lead single off the bands third studio album, Ten Thousand Fists, and “Indestructible” the fourth single off their fourth studio album similarly titled, Indestructible. Continuing to provide compelling ways for gamers to experience and interact with premier music like never before.The Guitar Hero music library is proud to announce Shinedown’s debut Guitar Hero appearance. Starting July 27, fans can enjoy the Shinedown Track Pack, which features “Devour,” “Second Chance” and “Sound of Madness,” three of the biggest hits off their certified Platinum album, The Sound of Madness.
The Queen 2, Avenged Sevenfold, Disturbed and Shinedown track packs will be available on Xbox LIVE Marketplace for 440 Microsoft Points, on the PlayStation Store for $5.49 and for Wii for 550 Wii Points. All songs in each track pack will also be released as downloadable singles for the Xbox 360 for 160 Microsoft Points, PlayStation 3 for $1.99 and Wii for 200 Wii Points each. In addition to the in-game music store and Xbox LIVE Marketplace, Xbox owners can expand their Guitar Hero music library using the Guitar Hero VIP Pass Music Store, available exclusively on Xbox LIVE.
Rayman is coming back in action, Ubisoft has decided to break out the R-man out of the dusty archives and give him his time in the spot light. Ubisoft has decided to take a page from the Sam & Max series and release Rayman in a episodic bits. How many episodes will there be? Ubisoft isn’t saying but I have a feeling that we’re gonna be in for a special treat. Be on the lookout for Rayman coming Christmas time for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.
Ubisoft releases their first big dlc for Tom Clancys Splinter Cell Conviction and it is pleasantly surprising. It is only a map pack which contains four maps for use in either Hunter, Face Off, Infiltration or Last Stand but the variety is substantial.
Deniable Ops Insurgency Pack offers four new maps in areas like the docks of San Francisco, New Orleans cemetery, a prison in Portland to a hidden research complex in Salt Lake City. As the other maps in the main game, these are three part levels that offer so much to do in each one. The San Francisco area is a good example of not only the levels versatility but how it starts you off in a wear house and by the third part, makes its way to a dock area.
Each mode also offers its own strength and longevity to the pack. Although all maps can be played in solo, the games strengths lie in its co-op flexibility. Face Off is another aspect in which you definitely want to experience, especially on the new pack. There are many hiding places, secret pathways and dark corners to get you in and out of situations in a pinch. Our only real gripe is that there is no change to the AI’s mechanic for the new stages so they don’t use it to its full potential.
This is actually some great work and care thats been put into this dlc pack. Players can go at this for hours and taking on the stages in different ways, while racking up the achievement list that adds an extra 250 points to the game. For 800 MS points on Xbox Live or $10 on the PC this pack is great fun for all and should not be missed.
Hulu and Sony have finally came to the conclusion that Playstation Plus will not be needed in order for you to watch Hulu on your PS3 in the future. Although the Playstation Plus server wont be required to view Hulu, a Hulu Plus subscription will. Somewhere along the discussions between Sony and Hulu a price agreement must have fell through the cracks. Eventually when Hulu takes care of it’s beta launch on the PS3 and has the system all figured out, a Hulu app will available to download on the Playstation Network. Again just keep in mind that a Hulu Plus subscription will indeed be needed to take full advantage of the app itself.
Recently Treyarch had a poll question up for the community asking how many hours of play it should take for players to get to the next prestige level. The poll spanned the hours of less than 12, 12, 18, 24, 40, 64, and over 64 hours, and as you can guess 24 being the medium in the number span was the number that the community chose.
About 47% of the community votes decided that players will have to clock in 4 multiplayer hours to get to the next prestige level. If there are about 10 Prestige levels in Black Ops, then that means it’s about 240 hours of gaming to reach full prestige. Hopefully to increase those hours Black Ops will bring back the option of having golden guns for the over achievers also for replayability a type of zombie mode. The golden gun and zombie mode have not yet been confirmed but it would be nice to have back.
This fall, Activision plans on transform your living room into nightclubs. Letting budding beat chemists, singing sensations and all of their friends party together by firing up two turntable controllers and a microphone to experience DJ Hero 2. Those who pre-order the DJ Hero 2 Turntable Bundle at GameStop will receive an exclusive DJ Hero 2 turntable controller bag by Puma.
Dragon Quest Fans Connect and Conquer in New York’s Rockefeller Plaza
WHAT: Nintendo will host a sensational social gathering to celebrate the July 11 launch of Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies for the portable Nintendo DS™ family of systems. Consumers of all ages and backgrounds are invited to the Nintendo World store in New York’s Rockefeller Plaza to experience the multiplayer fun and rich customization features of this epic new release. Multiple game demo stations will be placed throughout the store and Rockefeller Plaza for attendees. All guests will have the opportunity to buy the game in advance of launch and Yuji Horii, creator of the Dragon Quest series, will sign autographs for the first 30 fans in line at the Nintendo World store to purchase the game (limit two items per customer). All visitors also can have souvenir pictures snapped in a unique Dragon Quest photo booth, snack on treats from a Dragon Quest ice cream truck (while supplies last), and receive special Dragon Quest-themed prizes (while supplies last).
WHO: Teens, kids, adults, parents, video game fans and consumers of all kinds
WHEN: Saturday, July 10, 2010 from 1-4 p.m.
WHERE: Nintendo World store
10 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10020
(Between 5th & 6th Ave.)
VISUALS:
— Fans lining up to be among the first to play Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies for Nintendo DS
— Players of all backgrounds using Nintendo DS systems to connect and play Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies together
— Players of all ages having fun creating their own customized Dragon Quest heroes
— Teens, kids and families enjoying treats from a special Dragon Quest ice cream truck
— Fans interacting with Yuji Horii, creator of theDragon Quest series
— Game B-roll available
