Living LIVE News Report 08.01.11
Posted by Trace Aber on 08.01.2011
News and thoughts on Madden getting pushed back, new DLC for Brink and Red Dead Redemption, free-to-play games coming to Xbox LIVE, ESPN on Xbox getting a huge update, Trailer Park King gets the Indie Spotlight and more!
REPLY POSTED
Goldeneye on the wii is one of the worst games I've played in the last 20 years. And no people, I'm not exaggerating
Posted By: Guest#8060 (Guest) on July 25, 2011 at 07:17 AM
Really, Guest#8060? I haven't actually played Goldeneye on the Wii, but I have a hard time believing it is the worst game in twenty years. What about Superman on the N64, Big Rigs for the PC, or a game I had the unfortunate pleasure of reviewing, Leasiure Suit Larry on the Xbox 360. Maybe you just need to play more games.
Agreed. Completely awful.
Posted By: Guest#8651 (Guest) on July 25, 2011 at 06:58 PM
Damn, maybe it is awful.
Rod Oracheski brought up a couple of points about the feasibility of the next generation consoles being able to have individual pedestrian artificial intelligence in games like Grand Theft Auto.
It wouldn't really need to be that much work. For each input from the gameplay world (car crash nearby, gunfire nearby, etc) the AI reacts a set way. They could just give each reaction three or four possible reactions, each flagged a specific way. When a pedestrian is generated, randomly flag it.
If they want to get crazy, have random flags specific to pedestrian types. One set for normal civilians, another for criminals, another for undercover cops, etc... Then you'd really have truly random reactions, and maybe some additional gameplay elements like stopping pickpockets or running into undercover cops.
Posted By: RodOracheski (Guest) on July 25, 2011 at 10:09 PM
Definitely a smart way to go about it, but I would imagine the probability of glitches being extremely high. The open world games of today have a plethora of crazy glitches, some humorous and some game-breaking. I can't imagine what it would be like testing a game where literally every action has so many reactions.
That being said, I really hope somebody pushes in this direction. Rockstar's history would suggest a high chance of them being the first to incorporate something like this into a game. Starting with Grand Theft Auto III, the series has been known to create some of the most reactionary and immersive worlds even seen in a game. If the next gen consoles are going to be as powerful as believed, it just might happen.
Welcome everyone to another issue of the Living LIVE News Report, and as always, I'm your host for the evening, Trace Aber.
Free to Play Games Coming Soon to an Xbox 360 Next to You?
Rumors have been popping up recently suggesting free-to-play games are coming to Xbox LIVE. Microsoft has apparently been looking into such games, and even searching for studios. They're also checking into free to play support systems, with the big hurdle the frequency of released patches, according to publisher of Tribes: Ascend to the PC for sure, and if all goes well, the 360.
The frequency at which patches can be released has been a longstanding problem with some developers, as each one requires extensive testing and is generally a pain. This extends to DLC, indie and arcade games as well, which limits what a lot of developers can do to support their games full time. If they do pick up a free to play game it's possible that their rules on patches and DLC may loosen noticeably, especially if they're feeling any heat from the PC market, aka Steam.
The question is no longer a matter of if, but instead a matter of when. Both Sony and Microsoft are interested, though I'm surprised Nintendo hasn't shown much interest. I have no problem with the model myself, thinking it's hard to complain about something that is free. Besides, even if I spend money on the game I'm still having fun with it, much like I would with any other game that I normally pay for.
Some people like to refer to them as an extended demo, which in some cases might be true. Even so, what's wrong with that? If you get to level 30 when the level cap is 60, you probably still had a lot of time and fun with the game, and you can keep playing for, you know, fun. If you run out of quests and still want to keep playing, what's wrong with spending a few bucks?
Big ESPN on LIVE Update Coming
According to a recent blog post by Major Nelson, it looks like everyone's favorite ESPN app is going to be getting an upgrade. Furthering their vision as becoming the all-in-one-media center, the update, scheduled for late August, will offer more personalization, split screen, college football scoreboards and much more. The complete set of features can be found below;
My Sports – ESPN on Xbox LIVE now allows you to choose your favorite sports and teams and designate these channels as "My Sports," so you can jump directly into the games and content you care most about. ESPN on Xbox LIVE will automatically provide you with a personalized daily feed of news and highlights based on "My Sports," catching you up on only the teams and sports you care most about. Mini Guide – The Mini Guide gives you a preview and quick access to all the sports content you care about right at the bottom of the screen. Saturday is all about college football, and now the best fans don't have to miss anything. Is another game tied up late in the fourth? Instantly switch to that game. Halftime? Play the earlier highlights. Split Screen – Because true sports fans want to watch more than one game at a time, ESPN on Xbox LIVE is adding Split Screen, allowing you to watch two events at once. Watch live events on both screens or a live event on one while you catch up on news and highlights on the other. You can even control both screens independently, pausing and rewinding each separately so you never miss a second of the action. Voice Control with Kinect – Focus on your team instead of looking for the remote. Navigate through the Content Guide, skip to the next highlight, or play, pause, and rewind that big play…all with the sound of your voice and the magic of Kinect . Scoreboard – ESPN on Xbox LIVE is also adding a live college football scoreboard that you can jump to any time. You can even use Split Screen to watch the big game on one side of your screen while the live scoreboard occupies the other, keeping you up on all the action from around college football. Reminders – Too many big games to keep track of in your head? Not to worry – ESPN on Xbox LIVE now lets you tag games and set reminders so you never miss a moment.Live Alerts – With new live alerts, ESPN on Xbox LIVE will keep you posted on score changes from around college football, even if you're not keeping a close eye on the scoreboard. ESPN BottomLine – The addition of the ESPN BottomLine to ESPN on Xbox LIVE keeps you in the know with breaking news and score updates from around the world of sports.
It's a shame I don't care about sports in the slightest.
News and Notes
The lastest DLC for Brink, titled Agents of Change, is scheduled to be released on August 3. The pack will feature two new maps, new clothing, new weapon attachments and the level cap has increased to 24. Even better? It's free for the first two weeks. While the game may have disappointed some, at least the studio is being generous.
You won't find me saying many positive things about the Gears of War series, but I absolutely want to buy this board game:
It looks like the last set of Red Dead Redemption DLC is set to release sometime in September. The free DLC will feature multiplayer characters and new locations for the multiplayer mode.
The yearly release of Madden has been pushed back to the end of August, but fear not football fans! While the game normally releases on the second Tuesday of each August, we will instead get the demo of the game pitting the Chicago Bears against the Green Bay Packers. A roster update of the game will be available on the day of release, which is August 30.
The Digital Downloads Arcade Games
From Dust (1200MP)
Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet (1200MP) [Releases August 3rd] DLC
Dragon Age II: Legacy (800MP)
Homefront: The Rock Map Pack (400MP) Games on Demand
Shaun White Skateboarding ($29.99)
Prison Break ($19.99)
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit ($39.99)
Trailer Park King (80MP)
I love the Indie channel, I really do. Where else could I find a game where I can finally live my lifelong dream of being the Trailer Park King while seducing a handful of big-breasted women who do not look out of place whatsoever in a trailer park? Sure, it's oddly specific, but it's my dream, damnit.
The King is a self-proclaimed "white trash photographer, gamer, bootlegger, and womanizer," and with a list of credentials like that it's hard to argue against his title. Oddly enough, this story is told through point-and-click gameplay. Even more strange, the story is about solving the murder of your girlfriend's brother.
The gameplay does not live up to any of the point and click classics, and provides a very simple, straightforward approach. You enter your trailer to find a dead guy and are given a list of ten suspects to interview. You go find a random item in a small map, give it to them, and move on to the next one.
Trailer Park King does possess a few positive, however. The game looks great and features full voice acting, something rarely seen to this degree on an indie game. Since the characters are over the top and ridiculous their over the top acting works, but I wouldn't call it great.
All in all, you'll get around an hour of entertainment for a dollar, which isn't that bad of a deal. You won't be blown away but the game will make you laugh and want to play through the entire thing. Rating: 6.5
Signing Out
That does it for me this week. Be sure to check back next week as we discuss all of the latest Xbox 360 news, including releases, rumors and reviews! Also, don't forget to bookmark 411Mania! And a note to all of the Indie Game developers out there – if you have an upcoming title that's going to be released soon drop me a line at traceaber@gmail.com and let me know. I'll write a full review of your game to be posted on 411Mania.com, which is a great way to get your game promoted!
I would love to check out the ESPN features but I have friggin' Time Warner Cable who won't play nice with MSFT (or HBO for HBO Go either). Still it's nice to see the Xbox pushing the media abilities, still waiting for the tv service they hinted at E3. I would love to tell Time Warner to get lost for good.
Posted By: Wii60 (Guest) on August 01, 2011 at 12:23 AM
The ESPN features have nothing to do with Microsoft. It's your cable provider not paying ESPN to carry it. If they don't carry it, you can't get it.
360 already had a free to play game, that trivia one.
Posted By: lol (Guest) on August 03, 2011 at 12:46 AM
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