Living LIVE 08.03.09: The 32nd Edition - Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Spaceman, the Halo Leader Boards, More
Posted by Trace Aber on 08.03.2009
Reviews of Spaceman, Who Did I Date Last Night, and Lord Ownage. Also includes information on all of the movies, DLC, and games released this week and can only be found in Living Live!
Opening Comments
Pretty slow week for me as far as video games go. I starting playing my UFC career again and I forgot how awesome that is. I recently became the Middleweight champ and just had my fourth defense against Anderson Silva in a 3-round nail biter. But, other than that, just a lot of 'Splosion Man.
Not too much news going on this week, though a bunch of Halo fans are probably pissed. For those of you that missed it, the leaderboards of the popular Halo Wars were completely lost due to "human error". Major Nelson has a statement below;
I wanted to make you aware of an unfortunate incident that has resulted in the loss of all data on the Halo Wars Xbox LIVE Leaderboards. This includes all singleplayer, multiplayer and Trueskill leaderboards, as well as all matchmaking data, resulting in the Halo Wars leaderboards being reset to original launch day status.
This was human error related to Xbox LIVE servers. It is not a broader service issue and will not impact other titles or Xbox LIVE experiences. The Xbox LIVE team is investigating the cause to prevent this from occurring in the future.
Thank you to Robot Entertainment for working with us through this issue and thank you to our Halo Wars community for your patience as we've sorted this out. On behalf of everyone at Xbox LIVE, I'd like to apologize for the incident and any frustration Halo Wars players have experienced in having their statistics disappear from the Leaderboards. You can rest assured that we're putting processes in place to prevent this from happening in the future.
And, without further ado...
I'm Trace Aber and this is Living LIVE.
Game Marketplace - A look at the arcade games, demos, and add-ons released this week.
Marvel Vs Capcom 2 (1200MP)
Fans asked, and Capcom listened! One of the most popular fighting games of all time returns! MvC 2 brings legendary characters from throughout Marvel and Capcom history to duke it out in an insane tag-team fighting experience. Featuring an unprecedented 56-character roster and now with enhanced HD graphics and online play, one of the best fighting games ever just got better! Buy it today!
Community Games
Spaceman (240MP)
In the game Spaceman you are trying to save the Galactic Princess from the evil Dr. Strange. You have somehow found your way onto his (evil) ship but only to find out that inside there exists a bunch of annoying and frustrating puzzles for your to solve on your way to the Galactic Princess. Designed as a puzzle-adventure game, the difficulty in Spaceman doesn't come from it's complex puzzles or unique features but more due to unfortunate game design. The difficulty comes from not being able to jump at all, which is quite possibly the most annoying "feature" to have ever been put into a video game. But, personal gripe aside, it is possible to get through these puzzles. You have the typical traps and obstacles such as arrows and spikes to avoid. As Spaceman you are capable of dropping small bombs that destroy certain obstacles and also forming a "bubble", which is a block that you can create out of thin air. The problem with this is that it is only one direction, meaning puzzles that are difficult could be much easier if you could either form this bubble in more than one direction or, even more logically - JUMP. The puzzles seem lazy and thrown together, meaning at no point did I feel any sort of interest in this game. I'm not sure how many levels are in this game, but the three or four I finished nearly bored me to tears.
The presentation of the game is rather basic with one audio track on loop and simple grid-based sprites. Honestly, nothing about this game impresses me and the fact it costs 240MP is even more irritating. Seriously, what a random price. Rating: 4.0
Who Did I Date Last Night (80MP)
Who Did I Date Last Night puts players in the shoes of a sufferer of transient global amnesia who had a wonderful night with a mysterious girl the night before. All you have is some notes about her, such as the color of her hair, whether she prefers indoors or outdoors, and if she likes to pose like a model. You are then given a large selection of women to choose from, given only their pictures. With the six clues you get, you choose three from the group that you think might just be the girl of your dreams. I would tell you if I got any of them right but in order to find that out you have to unlock the game - something I'm not about to do.
WDIDLN is a very simple game, hence the 80MP price tag. You get some nice piano music in the background and photographs of women for visuals. Honestly, it's not the most interesting game out there and I don't see people staying up all night to play this, but I will give it points for being different. But, in the end, there's just no real good reason to purchase this unless you're really desperate for pictures of women. Even then, it's not worth it. Rating: 5.0
Lord Ownage:UnBritish Invasion (400MP)
Lord Ownage, first and foremost, has a sense of humor that many Monty Python fans will appreciate which I'm sure will sell some copies based on that fact alone. But, what Ownage has in humor it lacks in overall gameplay. The story is that British is under attack and it's up to Lord Ownage to save the day. The problem is that due to some regulations you can't directly attack the invading aliens, and this is where the game starts to lose me. Instead of some sweet alien-killing you instead have to confuse them to death. And what's the most confusing thing in the world? British-themed items, such as coffee and, well, seeing as how I'm not British I don't quite know most of the other items. Anyways, you shoot these items at the aliens and when three of the same items line up the alien becomes confused and eventually explode due to a British overload. And that's the game.
Lord Ownage comes with "realistic British weather, with a 1 in 4 chance that it will be raining whenever you play," which I think it's more funny than anything. The graphics are simple but crisp and it appears as though there's a variety of backgrounds and levels, which is nice to know. The audio leaves a bit to be desired, but I almost feel as though it's supposed to be that way, so it's a pass. The game does come with a level editor but I was not able to test it in the trial. Overall, Lord Ownage is an interesting puzzle game that has a good sense of humor about it, but the puzzle portion of the game falls a bit flat in my opinion. At 200MP this would be a worthwhile purchase but 400MP seems a bit too much. Rating: 6.5
Game Demos
IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey
IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey is based around the large-scale aerial combat and ground military operations of World War II. Players can participate in some of the war's most famous battles piloting fighters, battle planes and heavy bombers across a range of thrilling missions. There are six theatres of war to engage in – The Battle of Britain, Stalingrad, Berlin, Sicily, Ardennes and Korsun.
Game Add-Ons
Gears of War 2 - Dark Corners Multiplayer Map Pack (1200MP)
This downloadable content pack features 7 new Gears 2 multiplayer maps and a bonus deleted single-player chapter, "Road to Ruin," from the Gears of War 2 campaign. In "Road to Ruin," Marcus and Dom navigate the treacherous Locust highway, choosing stealth or blazing action to survive. For multiplayer fans, the 7 maps include a new War Machine, the much-requested Gears 1 map; Allfathers Garden, a heavy-weapons battle at a COG landmark; Highway, a fight deep in the Locust Hollow; Memorial, a battle at the Tomb of the Unknowns; Nowhere, a firefight in an old motel; Way Station, an unpredictable battlefield with parallel paths; and Sanctuary, a reimagined favorite from Gears for Windows.
Gears of War 2: All Fronts Collection (1600MP)
This content pack features all 19 downloadable Gears 2 multiplayer maps and a bonus deleted single-player chapter, "Road to Ruin," from the Gears of War 2 campaign. For multiplayer fans, this pack brings together the complete set of Gears 2 multiplayer maps: Allfathers Garden, Canals, Courtyard, Flood, Fuel Depot, Fuel Station, Gold Rush, Gridlock, Grind Yard, Highway, Mansion, Memorial, Nowhere, Sanctuary, Subway, Tyro Station, Under Hill, War Machine, and Way Station—everything in the Flashback, Combustible, Snowblind, and Dark Corners downloadable packs combined.
Rock Band
Blink-182 Pack 01 (440MP)
"The Rock Show" by Blink 182 (160MP)
"Feeling This" by Blink 182 (160MP)
"Down" by Blink 182 (160MP)
KISS Pack 01 (440MP)
"100,000 Years (Live)" by KISS (160MP)
"Parasite (Live)" by KISS (160MP)
"Deuce (Live)" by KISS (160MP)
Weezer Pack 02 (440MP)
"Undone (The Sweater Song)" by Weezer (160MP)
"Pork and Beans" by Weezer (160MP)
"My Name Is Jonas" by Weezer (160MP)
"Out Here All Night" by Damone (160MP)
Guitar Hero: World Tour
Knuckle Sandwich Track Pack (440MP)
"Bloodmeat" by Protest The Hero (160MP)
"I'm Shipping up to Boston" by The Dropkick Murphys (160MP)
"New Wave" by Against Me! (160MP)
Lips
"I'm Coming Out" by Diana Ross (160MP)
"It's Not The Fall That Hurts" by Caesars (160MP)
"Yo (Excuse Me Miss)" by Chris Brown (160MP)
Race Pro Pack 2 (560MP)
8 cars (52 skins) / 2 Tracks / WTCC 08 season Lada 110 WTCC Honda Accord Euro R Volvo C30 BMW E90 Chevrolet Lacetti Seat Leon TDI Seat Leon TFSI Formula Master Estoril (Portugal) Okayama (Japan)
LIVE Activity for week of July 20th
Xbox 360 Top LIVE Titles
1 Halo 3
2 Call of Duty 4
3 Call of Duty: WaW
4 Gears of War 2
5 Battlefield 1943
6 GTA IV
7 1 vs 100
8 FIFA 09
9 Left 4 Dead
10 UFC 2009 Undisputed
Top Arcade Titles
1 Battlefield 1943
2 Splosion Man
3 The Secret of Monkey Island™: Special Edition
4 Castle Crashers
5 Worms 2: Armageddon
6 Magic: The Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalkers
7 UNO
8 Hasbro Family Game Night **
9 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1989 Classic Arcade
10 Sonic The Hedgehog 3
Original Xbox Top Live Titles
1 Halo 2
2 Star Wars: Battlfrnt 2
3 Counter-Strike
4 Fable
5 Splinter Cell Chaos
6 Conker: Live Reloaded
7 Doom 3
8 Star Wars: Battlefront
9 SW: Republic Commando
10 SW: KOTOR
Top Community Games
1 RC-AirSim
2 Fireworks HD
3 myFishtank
4 Kodu Game Lab
5 Gamerbots:Third-Robot Shooting
6 A Perfect Massage
7 Physics Sandbox
8 3D Magic Images
9 Cyborg Mice Arena
10 A Morons Challenge
Video Marketplace
Morning Light (360MP, 240MP) Roy Disney combined his love for sailing and film to come up with the idea for this documentary. Racing a high-performance 52-foot sloop in the TRANSPAC, the most revered of open-ocean sailing competitions, the crew of "Morning Light" matches wits and skills in a dramatic 2300 mile showdown against top professionals. From their earliest training sessions in Hawaii conducted by world-class teachers through their test of endurance on the high seas, they form an unbreakable bond in the process of becoming a singular team that is greater than the sum of its parts.
The Education of Charlie Banks (NA, 320MP) In this directorial debut, Fred Durst tells a coming of age tale that spans from the playgrounds of lower Manhattan to the idyllic greens of a fictional liberal arts college in upstate New York. Charlie Banks' (Jesse Eisenberg of ADVENTURELAND) sheltered world is shaken when an old acquaintance (Jason Ritter of FREDDY VS. JASON) with a voilent past unexpectedly shows up at his dorm room. Set during the eighties, it is a story about change, inevitability, and ultimately, about facing one's fears.
The Haunting in Connecticut (480MP, 320MP) Based on a chilling true story, THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT charts one family's terrifying, real-life encounter with the dark forces of the supernatural. When the Campbell family moves to upstate Connecticut, they soon learn that their charming Victorian home has a disturbing history: not only was the house a transformed funeral parlor where inconceivable acts occurred, but the owner's clairvoyant son Jonah served as a demonic messenger, providing a gateway for spiritual entities to crossover. Now, unspeakable terror awaits when Jonah, the boy who communicated with the dead, returns to unleash a new kind of horror on the innocent and unsuspecting family.
Ichi the Killer (480MP, 320MP) A gangster's search for the killer who took out his boss. Miike's masterpiece is a complex character study of two tortured souls in a battle to the death for redemption.
The Horseman (480MP, 320MP) At home, hardened police detective Aidan Breslin (Dennis Quaid) has grown increasingly distant from his two young sons Alex and Sean since the death of his wife. At work, he finds himself thrust into an investigation of perverse serial killings rooted in the Biblical prophecy of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. As Breslin grapples with each new revelation in the case, he slowly discovers a shocking connection between himself and the four suspects.
Necessary Evil (480MP, 320MP) Deborah Fielding, seeker of the truth, will stop at nothing to uncover the layers of corruption that lie deep within the walls of Edgewater Psychiatric Institute, even if the cost is her life. In a series of twisted events, this budding investigative journalist unlocks a Pandora's box of deceit. As she confronts uncertainties, authorities and demons from her past, she realizes they have been dwelling closer than she thought. What she finds is that her seemingly perfect life is nothing more than a perfect lie.
Dead Wood (NA, 320MP) Anxious to get out of the city, two couples pack up and head out for a long weekend in the woods. Events take a turn for the worse when a girl mysteriously appears at their campsite looking for her missing boyfriend. The nightmare has only just begun, and they find themselves lost in an endless wilderness haunted by a dark evil. Slowly, they disappear one by one. What has really happened to those who were taken, and what's about to happen to the few that remain in Dead Wood?
Two Lovers (480MP, 320MP) Leonard (Joaquin Phoenix) is a charismatic but troubled young man who moves back into his childhood home following a recent heartbreak. While recovering under the watchful eye of his parents, Leonard meets two women in quick succession: Michelle (Gwyneth Paltrow), a mysterious and beautiful neighbor who is exotic and out-of-place in Leonard's staid world, and Sandra (Vinessa Shaw), the lovely and caring daughter of a businessman who is buying out his family's dry-cleaning business. Leonard becomes deeply infatuated with Michelle, while mounting pressure from his family pushes him towards committing to Sandra. Leonard is forced to make an impossible decision between the impetuousness of desire and the comfort of love, or risk retreating back into heartbreak.
Retribution Road (NA, 320MP) A bank robbery gone wrong leads to a horrific crime and the capture of the most relentless outlaw in Texas…the infamous Johnny Rios. Incarcerated, Rios ups the ante with a daring ultimatum that gives the sleepy town of Wardlaw a rude awakening as their courageous Sheriff prepares for the shoot-out of a lifetime. One that could either put this town on the map or annihilate it all together. The laws they live by are the laws they'll die by on Retribution Road.
Events
Monday: Music Monday - DDR Universe 3
Tuesday: Family Game Night - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Wednesday: GamerchiX Ladies Night - Halo 3
Wednesday: Game With Developers - Marvel Vs Capcom 2
Thursday: Co-Op Night - Frontlines: Fuel of War
Friday: Game With Fame - Method Man and Redman (Halo 3)
Sunday: Community Playdate - LoadingReality.com (Red Faction: Guerrilla
Closing
Join us next Monday for more of the latest news, reviews, and downloads on Xbox Live! Any questions or comments can be posted below! Also, don't forget to bookmark 411 as your homepage, because, I mean, you come here everyday anyways. Just save yourself the trouble.
