The Full Circle: 360 News Report 11.16.07

Posted by Mike Minotti on 11.16.2007

A Ghostbusters game. Hells yes. Also, original Xbox games are now downloadable on Xbox Live, plus the latest NPD console sales numbers.



Wow, thank god my column is littered with freaking Guitar Hero 3 and Rock Band news this week. I am seriously getting sick of considering every announced piece of downloadable content as news

This week, the news is much more awesome. It's actually awesome to the umpteenth power. I know, but trust me, it is that awesome.



The Exploding Barrel is now an official part of the 411mania network. Hopefully we'll be able to get some other writers from the gaming zone involved soon. Don't forget to visit the Exploding Barrel podcast's site. A new podcast will be up on Saturday. Check out the podcast's site here. As always, I appreciate it.

Saturday's episode will also be hosted directly on 411Games, so be sure to look for that too.

News

Who you gonna call!



This was the freaking awesome news I was talking about before. A Ghostbuster's game is coming. Now, for those you of who saw that early video of a Ghostbuster's game earlier this year, this technically isn't that game. Still, if this game is half as cool as that one screen shot, we should be fine.

We don't know much about this game, but Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Bill Murray and Harold Ramis will all be back to voice their original characters, and the game's story is being written Aykroyd and Rami. The plot takes place in the early nineties, after the events of Ghostbusters 2. For intents and purposes, this is Ghostbusters 3. I freaking can't wait for some more details. But don't worry, it is coming for the 360.

Original Xbox games coming to Live.



This kind of surprised me, but starting on December 4, Xbox Original games will be available to download on Xbox Live. Five games will be available at the start, and those are the original Halo, Crimson Skies, Fusion Frenzy (heh… odd man out), Fable, and Psychonauts. Each game will cost 1200 points ($15).

Now, these downloadable versions of these games won't have achievements, and there may be some performance issues (as small as frame rate drops and as big as game crashes if you try to play demos and trailers that will included in the original games).

An interesting feature. Let's see how well it's received.

October NPDs.



You may recall that there was a scare that the NPD group would stop releasing console sales data, but it looks like the NPD had a change of heart. Here are the console sales for October:

- PlayStation 2: 184,000
- PlayStation 3: 121,000
- PlayStation Portable: 286,000
- Xbox 360: 366,000
- Wii: 519,000
- Nintendo DS: 458,000

The 360 dropped a bit from 527,800 consoles sold last month, but the high sales from last month were largely due to Halo 3's release. Sales should go up ahead next month, thanks to the holiday season.

Free GH3 DLC!?



Alright, so I do have some guitar DLC news, but not much. The boss songs, including Devil Went Down to Georgia, are now available to play outside of career mode. And yes, it's free (it better me). This is available now.

Weekly Releases

Another big week.

Mass Effect – 11/20
A lot of people are looking forward to this, whether it be for the deep sci-fi adventuring or for lesbian alien sex.

Rock Band – 11/20
Is the beginning of the end for Guitar Hero?

College Hoops 2K8 – 11/13
I haven't liked a basketball game since the original NBA Jam.

Weekly Poll



You just got a million points in Guitar Hero! YOU... ARE...

ROCKSTARS! 6%
GODS! 11%
AWESOME! 7%
FAGS! 76%

Good to see so many of you watch South Park.

Weekly Trailer

Here's a trio of Rock Band trailers. Why not?







Target Topic: Smackdown vs. Raw 2008

Yep, I picked up the new Smackdown game. I'll give some quick impressions here.

First off, I love the new styles system. It's great to the wrestlers diversified so much more. High flyers actually have a real advantage when it comes to aerial attacks, and submissionists are actually the best at submission moves. I know it sounds like this system is a no brainer, but it took this long to get it.

I'm going through career mode as Jeff Hardy. It's similar to years past, except you have RPG-like activities and events you can simulate on days off. Still, when it's Monday, it's business as usual. A lot of the cut scenes aren't individually created for specific story lines, so you see the same scene of your wrestler walking down a hallway a lot, where he randomly friendly greets or disses random wrestlers. Sometimes my wrestler will shake hands when I'm in the middle of a heated feud with them.

The Hall of Fame mode is a nice touch, which let's you relive classic WWE moments, like Shawn and Bret Hart's Iron Match, or Taker and Mick Foley in Hell in a Cell.

Overall, the season mode may be a bit of a disappointment, but it's still functional. Luckily, the new styles system makes up for it, and helps make this an overall better game than last year's Smackdown.

Reader Mail

Yay, mail! Even if he does get my first name wrong, I'll take it.

Dear Matt,

I'm buying Rock Band because of Harmonix being involved. I was irked that they were sold to MTV. After seeing the song list (and the vast majority happen to be master tracks), I think it is going to be super cool. That is why I have the $169.99 bundle reserved. Out of all the midnight releases that I have attended, this will be the first I won't regret (I'm looking at you Halo 3: The Legendary Edition).

On a side note, it is nice that you admit to owning more than things Microsoft Good article.

David Redkey

I know a lot of people feel the same way. They feel more loyalty to Harmonix than they do to the Guitar Hero brand, which is completely understandable. By the way, have many of you played Harmonix's previous PS2 music games, Amplitude and Frequency? They're definitely worth checking out.

Thanks for the feedback, Dave.

The Other Guys

Nintendophiles' Theo Fraser is one of the few people who give Namco's "Tales of" series any love. Respect.

The SIXAXIS' Mark Salmela will be happy to know that I think Uncharted: Drake's Fortune is amazing. You win this time, Mark.

Game Over

I'm hoping to try some Mass Effect. I'll let everyone know what I think. In the meantime, I still have 59 stars to get in Super Mario Galaxy. I must play as Luigi!