The Full Circle: 360 News Report 04.18.08
Posted by Joe Roche on 04.18.2008
Is April ever going to end? This is easily the biggest edition of The Full Circle since the month began but we're still treading water in Microsoft land until GTAIV comes out. This week we've got superhero games, sales figures, and demos galore. We're also bringing you Guitar Hero III news, and some Team Fortress 2 updates for all you Valve fans out there. Celebrate the 360 releasing a new game this week with The Full Circle.
It's been a strange week for your old friend Joe over here in The Full Circle bunker. I have officially finished my final full week of school for what I only hope will be the rest of my life. I've been in some form of higher education for seven years and that all comes to an end officially next Tuesday before finals and then graduation from a certain law school in the same city that produced Larry Bird, and John Valentine. That sound you heard was my head smashing against my desk as I realize all this actually means is student loan bills will be coming soon – I'll have to ask for a raise from the higher ups at 411 after this article goes up.
Regardless it's time for me to blank all that out for a few moments and deliver the news of the week concerning your favorite console – and no there will be no Metal Gear Solid stories in this post.
Good News for Limey 360s
Microsoft announced that European sales for the Xbox 360 have more than doubled due to the recent adjustment of the retail price, "significantly broadening the console's audience" it says. "Xbox 360 is truly the next-generation console of choice among consumers, and today's numbers are proof that we are delivering on our commitment to achieve critical mass in Europe," said Chris Lewis, Vice President, Microsoft Interactive Entertainment Business Europe. "The highly competitive ERP, coupled with entertainment content that's appealing to everyone in the home, makes Xbox 360 the ultimate high-definition entertainment choice, and it's clear that we're already seeing this resonate with consumers."
Microsoft claims that "the Xbox 360 is the number one next-gen console in EMEA, owning 42% of the market in terms of life to date revenue. Xbox 360 continues to enjoy the highest software attach rate of any game console in Europe with more than 7.0 games sold per console (PS3: 3.8; Wii 3.5) after 27 months on the market."
This is good news for the 360 because Microsoft is traditionally a company that doesn't really care for markets that they can't reach by car. Now I will note that contrary to popular belief I am not an economist and as such I have no real grasp on what these numbers mean in fact – so I'd love for someone to explain them in a language that I might understand. However, at the very least what this means is that the price drop in Europe had the desired effect for Microsoft.
I do have one issue with this news though and that is that what will the story be eight months from now? I mean GTAIV is a huge releases no doubt about it – it's headed for the PS3 as well though so it's not an exclusive title. After that the Playstation seemingly takes over with exclusive releases and content until Gears of War 2, which means these numbers might become a lot closer by the time we hear from Chris Lewis again. I know that for as much as I think the PS3 has been an overpriced, overhyped DVD player – there is something about Mark posting pictures of that Metal Gear Solid bundle that makes me wonder if I could sneak a PS3 into the house without my fiancé finding out.
Release Date for Soulcalibur IV and more
July 29th is the date to mark off on your calendar if you've been anxiously awaiting the release of Soulcalibur IV with Yoda, for all you 360 fans (Darth Vader to become available through DLC at some point in the future I am sure). From what I've seen the game looks amazingly good, and I have always been a fan of the Soulcalibur series even though I'm not a huge fighting game fan. I will be interested to see the type of online capabilities that this game has, and whether or not it's enough to revive a genre that I feel has started to fall by the wayside. We've got this and the new Street Fighter on the horizon so while I haven't played a fighting game since I was playing the original Soulcalibur on my Dreamcast, I might have to get back into the button mashing swing of things real soon.
Hey speaking of the original Soulcalibur on my Dreamcast – guess what's coming to the Xbox Live Arcade?
The port of the classic fighting game will feature every character and mode that the original did as well as online leaderboards. Local multiplayer matches were tossed out as a selling point, but no mention was made of any new online modes and the game was not shown in any form.
No online modes? Not sure how I feel about that – but even a direct port of Soulcalibur to the XBL Arcade makes me warm in the middle. This was one of my favorite fighting games of all time and even though I fear that it hasn't survived the test of time very well it was unceremoniously removed from my fathers house after I moved out and went to college and ever since that fateful day I've been wondering if I could get back into it. Looks like I'll be getting my chance at some point in the near future as there was no release date slated on that piece of news.
Mercenaries' 2: The Search for Curley's Gold
Apparently release dates and DLC announcements are all we've got this week. Pandemic this week announced that Mercenaries 2: World in Flames will have a demo disc prior to the full game release. There was no information on the release other then the mysterious "not sure of dates" but this is the type of game that I feel will benefit from a demo release. Say what you want about the destroying everything on the screen during game play but while it might not translate through words, actually participating is pretty enjoyable.
Further, it appears that there will be some DLC for the game released which is already up and running on the console versions of the game. I have no idea what that means, and if it's all ready to go couldn't we include it on the initial release instead of making people wait for the downloadable content? I really do like the idea of DLC when it adds something unique to the game (see: map packs for COD4, and Halo 3), but when it's just stuff that should have/could have been included in the initial launch but you hold off to milk your audience for money – I have a tough time supporting that system.
GH: Aerosmith Bundle
Hey speaking of milking your audience for their money – it's Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. The news making the rounds this week about the next installment of the Guitar Hero franchise was that instead of launching with a new guitar peripheral, the game will come bundled with the Gibson Les Paul wireless guitar from GH3, only with a special Aerosmith graphic on the face. So if you already own the wireless controller from when you purchased GHIII there doesn't seem to be any significant reason why you should worry about purchasing this bundle.
Luckily (or unluckily depending on your frame of mind) for me I do believe that I'm one of the only people who has GHIII without the wireless controller. There was a serious Christmas rush on Guitar Hero III and as such I just got the game to play on my wired peripheral, so that when this next edition of the franchise is released I do believe that I might pick up the Aerosmith guitar. Obviously I don't expect many people to feel the same way that I do, but as a person from Boston, who has grown up with Aerosmith and has a ticket stub from one of the first concerts they ever played as a band (my parents were there at Marlboro High School) I think this game might be geared exclusively towards me anyways.
Probably the biggest issue hinges on the fact that as a franchise Guitar Hero seems to be in significant trouble. I'm wondering how many people out there are even still excited about playing GH3, and who has given up completely on the game and moved over to the Rock Band experience?
One final Guitar Hero note to be fair – tomorrow you can download a 3 song track pack from Def Leppard. The pack will include their new song "Nine Lives" along with two classic Leppard songs "Photograph" and "Rock of Ages". I once saw Def Leppard in concert, and not in the 80s, it was much closer to 2002 and let me tell you – it was fantastic on so many levels that I can barely contain myself. I must admit that this would be a more interesting Rock Band release because I wonder how easy the drum portion would be.
A Couple More Demos
This is becoming a bit of a demo heavy news report so let me consolidate two items that you will all be able to enjoy right around the time you're reading this edition of TFC. The first demo to inform you of is Condemned 2: Bloodshot a game that I am very interested in trying out and have already downloaded the demo for – just haven't pulled myself way from R6V2 long enough to try. This game has been getting really solid reviews from most sources including an 8.7 from our very own Ramon Aranda. In case you missed it this is what Ramon said about Condemned 2: Bloodshot:
Condemned 2: Bloodshot, while not overly different from the first incarnation comes as a fine sequel to what was already a pretty good game. This is a game that encourages you to think outside the box and use some strategy and smarts while challenging you to stay alive in hopes of bringing your city back to sanity. While the multiplayer is a welcome addition, I don't see it really being more than a side distraction when you need a break from the single player game. Still, the story mode is really where its at and coupled with an intriguing story and a bone-chilling atmosphere, Condemned 2 succeeds as another fine entry into the Xbox 360 (and PS3) library.
The second demo that will released for your gaming pleasure this weekend is for Iron Man. This is a game that I am glad will be getting the demo treatment prior to it's May 2nd release (to coincide with the movie of a similar name), because video games fashioned off movies are rarely – for the lack of a better term lets say good. This particular game seems interesting if only because Tony Stark is one of my favorite comic book characters if not my favorite so I'll be downloading this as well.
Looks like it'll be a long weekend of working through a few demos.
Team Fortress 2 Updates
Ever since I got my copy of Rainbow Six Vegas 2 my copy of The Orange Box has been sitting in my drawer collecting dust. That might have to change now though as Valve is set to release some updates and a new map/match style called Goldrush on April 20th.
To match the expansion of the Medic's arsenal, each of Team Fortress 2's eight other classes will eventually acquire three unlockable weapons and/or tools alongside a lengthy, class-specific achievement list. Valve anticipates a rapid roll out and explains that the trickier challenge was implementing persistent data storage on Steam (to store player inventories), rather than re-balancing the game to reflect its fluctuating dynamics. In addition, Walker hints that, later down the line, Valve will introduce entirely new character classes as well as maps that differ dramatically from Goldrush.
Goldrush, a new map -- also introduced with the April 20th update -- introduces the Payload gameplay type. An attacking team must escort a mine cart-carried bomb across a battlefield and through a series of capture points to its ultimate destination inside a defending team's base. Simply standing beside the bomb propels it forward, and the more players in the area, the quicker the cart clips along. Carts that haven't been pushed for a period of 30 seconds begin to roll backwards. Walker describes Goldrush as a combination of the popular Dustbowl map and the Team Fortress Classic favorite called Hunted, in which one team, composed entirely of soldiers and medics, escorted an umbrella-toting VIP past enemy snipers and to an extraction point.
Am I alone in thinking these new updates are awesome? This is enough to get me excited to play TF2 again for the first time in awhile. So you're promising a reason to use the Medic, a new map, a new gameplay type and the promise of future updates for each class (and possibly new character classes?)? Sign me up. This should all be dropping in on Sunday night so expect me up late playing some Orange Box if you want to join in on the TF2 fun.
New Spidey Game
As I'm finishing up this weeks Full Circle there appears to be news (from a Gamestop flyer) that Activision is set to launch a new Spiderman game. According to IGN:
Web of Shadows will be set in a free-roaming, open-ended New York that combines web slinging with customizable superpowers. There will be the traditional combo attacks on the ground, but the game will also feature a brand new emphasis on vertical combat as gamers take Spidey to the skies and duke it out with bad guys.
The most interesting part of this newest addition to the Spiderman video game collection is that you as the player will have a choice between playing your friendly neighborhood Spiderman, or you can ignore the helpless dolts in trouble and focus on your own personal agenda.
Apparently this weekend if you're going to be at the New York Comic Con you can seek out the Activision booth and audition for a voice acting role in the game, an interesting twist on what sounds like a pretty interesting game. Speaking of Comic Con this weekend in New York is anyone heading to that? I can't imagine there would be a worse weekend in the history of New York City to hold Comic Con there but the convergence of Roman Catholic zealots and comic book nerds on the city might be the worst thing to happen to NYC since Vanilla Sky.
THE WEEK AHEAD
NBA Ballers: Chosen One
Well after two weeks of having nothing to report we've finally got a game release heading into the big GTAIV week to close out the month. The NBA Ballers franchise returns with Chosen One which is described as:
NBA Ballers: Chosen One allows players to live the life of an NBA superstar. Featuring new competitive combo and super-move systems, the NBA Ballers Franchise returns with the amazing realistic graphics for which the franchise is known as players take part in the ultimate challenge to become the next Chosen One. The fast-paced one-on-one and two-on-two action returns as players can select from more than 65 NBA superstars to be the next "Chosen One". The franchise's hallmark pick-up-and-play gameplay allows Ballers of all skill levels to master combos and pull off amazing super-moves as they hoop-it-up with the best players in the NBA.
At least this game picked the right time to come out – as the NBA playoffs kick into high gear I'm sure there will be some people with a basketball jones that might just pick this up for shits and giggles. I don't plan on even talking to someone who owns this game so you'll have to let me know how it is if you wind up playing it accidentally.
Outro
Again I have no idea how to link to anyone else because I am one step away from writing this in crayon but rest assured that you should all be checking out the other columns around 411 Games because most of them are good, some of them are average and then there is that PS3 column.
Finally if you don't listen to the Exploding Barrel podcast there is something wrong with you. The brothers turned me on to "Crisis Core" and I'm glad they did. So once you're done reading all your 411 Games columns check out the EB you will not be disappointed.
