The Full Circle: 360 News Report 11.23.07
Posted by Mike Minotti on 11.23.2007
I am thankful for a lot of things this year, especially the bounty of great 360 games that we've been having the past couple of weeks. Also, new Halo maps, and dinosaurs and Doritos are finally together at last!
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Well, technically Thanksgiving was yesterday, but I'm writing this on Thanksgiving. That's right; I'm missing delicious turkey and time with my family so that I can write my Xbox column for all of you!
Alright, that's a lie. Its 9:00 pm and everyone's already gone.
Although the releases for the 360 have been spectacular lately, the news is a bit on the thin side. Don't worry, I'll find some way to beef it up.
You can now listen to the show right here via streaming! Of course, you can still go to our blog site (click on our logo) or subscribe to the Exploding Barrel at the iTunes Music Store.
News
The word "Doritos" is in my first headline. Let this be a sign for things to come.
I told you this was a slow news week. Anyways, you may remember that Dorito's "design a Live Arcade game" contest thing, right? Right. Well, Dash of destruction won the contest. In the game, a T-Rex chases a Doritos' truck around a city. You can play as either the T-Rex or the truck. Although having a T-Rex in there makes it sound kind of awesome, I will not be fooled! No game based off a chip can be good. The last time a food product was the basis for a good game Cool Spot for the Genesis. Man, that's a game I would love to see on some download service.
Baaaa Ba Baaaaa Ba Baaaa (Halo 3 theme on Guitar Hero 3).
Although it usually annoys me to no end to have to report guitar gaming DLC, this bit is kind of cool. The Halo theme is downloadable for free on the Xbox Live Marketplace. Not too shabby. I'm glad they didn't charge for this, especially considering they could have easily gotten away with it.
I wonder if the Wii, PS2, and PS3 versions of GH3 will see their own free DLC? I'm betting not. Too bad, because some classic Nintendo themes in Guitar Hero form would be awesome.
New Halo Map Pack coming this December.
On December 11th, the "Heroic Map Pack" will be available for download on Xbox Live for 800 points. That's $10 for those of you who still don't have a grasp on the points thing. Three maps will be included; Standoff, Rat's Nest, and Foundry.
While Standoff and Rat's Nest will be your standard maps, Foundry is interesting, since it's basically a big empty space for you to play around with in the Forge. Cool, but does that mean that we're paying for an empty room? I feel like the Foundry should be a fourth map, with the third map being a bit more… real.
If you don't feel like paying, these maps will become free sometime in the Spring of 2008.
Weekly Releases
Well, things have finally slowed down.
History Channel: Battle for the Pacific – 11/27
I guess it was only a matter of time before the people at the History Channel decided to break into the videogame market. At least they were innovative enough to make a WW2 game. Sigh.
Omega Five – 11/28
It's a side-scrolling shooter coming to the Live Arcade. Side-scrolling shooters are probably is probably the second most tired genre after WW2 FPSs.
Weekly Poll
Actually, there is no weekly poll. Polls have been banned in 411. I know, I know, but we will press on! For the last time, let's take a look at the results of last week's poll.
Lesbian alien sex is…
hot. 57%
awkward. 17%
stupid. 17%
creepy. 9%
I guess blue is the new tanned.
Weekly Trailer
Here's a trailer for Alone in the Dark 5. A bit random, I know, but now that all of our Assassin's Creeds, Rock Bands, and Mass Effects have come out, I'm going to have to be digging a bit harder for the weekly trailer.
Target Topic: What I'm Thankful For
It's a Thanksgiving tradition to talk about what you're thankful for this year, so I'm going to do just that.
Better Voice Acting
I am thankful for the improvements that so many games have shown when it comes to voice acting. It used to be that the VA in a game would make you want to fold your ears inside out. Remember the PS1 days? Resident Evil and Symphony of the Night… wait, I take that back. SotN had GREAT voice acting.
Anyways, it used to be that I was happy if voice acting was sub-par at best. This year, however, I have seen some of the best VA in gaming in a long time. BioShock was a game that used voices as a way to mess with the character and guide the character. I loved picking up all of those recorded diaries, each with a story to tell from an actual person.
Even non-humans have been doing a great job of voice acting this year. GLaDos from Portal was on of the best characters in recent gaming, and her lines were always delivered with the perfect changes in pitch.
Assassin's Creed and Mass Effect are other examples of great voice acting in gaming. I definitely hope that this is a trend that continues.
Rock Band
I am very thankful for Rock Band. You know, you may have noticed that I've become a bit bitter sounding towards guitar games on this column. You have to understand that until just recently, I was sick of them. I had been playing them since I first saw Guitar Freaks at the Columbus, Ohio GameWorks (Guitar Freaks is a Japanese guitar game made by Konami that is the obvious inspiration for Guitar Hero). About a few months after Guitar Hero 2 came out, I felt like I was burning out. The fact that I played GH3 about twice was further proof of my boredom of the genre.
But Rock Band changed all that. Getting to play with my two brothers, friends, and even my parents is an incredible joy. Everyone gathers around the TV, taking turns with guitar, drums, or vocals, all of which I enjoy, although the drums are a bit tiring for my right foot. That pedal can be a bitch.
I am now a big believer in Rock Band, especially if the DLC keeps coming. This could be a game I play for a long time to come.
The Bounty of Great Games
Mass Effect has been in my house since Tuesday, and I haven't played it yet. Why? Because there are so many freaking games to play right now! This is truly a bounty of great games. I'm in the middle of Assassin's Creed, a game that has some of the best animations and the best living cities I have ever seen, Rock Band, Smackdown vs. Raw 08, and other non-360 games (mostly Mario Galaxy and Final Fantasy IX).
Some people complain about there being too many games in the fall season, and while I do wish things could be spread out a bit more, I'm not going to complain about having so many great games. I just need to find time for all of them.
Writing here at 411
Yes, this is a bit corny, but I am thankful to be writing at 411. I get to write for the Games and the Wrestling zones every week, which is frankly a joy. Being able to write about two of my favorite hobbies, and actually having people read it, is just great. Having the Exploding Barrel podcast hosted on the site is another thing I'm thankful. Of all the things I do for the site, that's probably my favorite. Anyways, thanks to all of you for reading my stuff. An special thanks to all of you who take the time to write with any comments or questions.
The Other Guys
Nintendophiles' Theo Fraser has info on House of the Dead 2 and 3 coming out for the Wii. I loved HotD2 on the Dreamcast, but I also remember it having some of the worst voice acting of all time.
The SIXAXIS' Mark Salmela celebrates the PS3's birthday. I would be thankful if my console was still around after a horrible first year of sales too. I kid, Mark. I kid.
Game Over
I really need to get to Mass Effect. I'll probably do just that now… after a few more songs in rock band.
