The Full Circle: 360 News Report 02.28.09

Posted by Joe Roche on 02.28.2009

It's a very special Saturday edition of The Full Circle as Joe Roche returns a day late to bring you all the latest Xbox 360 news including a couple debut trailers, some news about "The Lost and Damned," "Lost Planet 2" and the Xbox 360 being more popular then the Wii. All of that plus the very first Bargain Bin Classic inside The Full Circle.

Welcome one and all to a very special Saturday edition of The Full Circle. I'd like to take one moment to apologize to those who set their watch to my column being posted at midnight Thursday/Friday, and a special thank you to Ashish and Ramon to giving me the extra day to get this column finished. It has been a ridiculously busy week at work and there was simply not enough time to get this column where I wanted it before my Thursday deadline. I didn't want to short change The Full Circle fan out there so I pushed the column back a day.

As for my week in gaming it was very light – I finished Prey on Saturday (see the Hot Button below), and other then that I spent almost no time with the 360 (see aforementioned busy week). I did however indulge in the Xbox Live Deal of the Week and picked up Braid for the half off price of 800 microsoft points. Let me tell you this about Braid, I was having a very bad day on Tuesday and for whatever reason that game picked me up. I'm not kidding just the look and feel of the game improved my mood – so I'm looking forward to spending more time with that this weekend. If for some reason you haven't picked up Braid yet, I believe it's the Deal of the Week for another day or so, do yourself a favor and snag it for the low price of 800 MS points.

That's enough rambling this week allow me to take you around the one day late Full Circle.

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Lost Planet 2: Search for Curley's Gold
Capcom officially announced on February 25, 2009 that Lost Planet 2 is currently in development for the Xbox 360. The unofficial announcement came through the Xbox Live service and contained a good deal of game play footage. The game will pick up 10 years after the events of the first Lost Planet and will follow the exploits of your own customizable snow pirate.

So this was the least surprising, surprise announcement in history right? Last week I wrote about how there was a Capcom new game teaser on Xbox Live and guessed it would be Lost Planet 2. Lo and behold here we are a little over a week later talking about Lost Planet 2. For those who missed the debut trailer I've thrown it in The Viewing Room, and I suggest you take a look. I wasn't really a fan of the first Lost Planet, but this one has some promise. It almost looks like a more customizable version of Gears of War, but instead of two player online co-op you can have four player online co-op – oh and Mechs. Capcom made a diligent effort to highlight the input that they've taken from the community which leads me to believe that if you wind up hating Lost Planet 2, the only person who you can blame is yourself.



Xbox 350 Dominates Japan
For this past week the Xbox 360 led all consoles in sales in Japan. The Xbox 360 moved 25,334 units which was more then the Wii (16,973) and the PS3 (16,149) for the week.

This story highlights one thing – Japanese people will buy a console for one singular game. There can be no doubt that this massive week for Microsoft in Japan is due in sole part to the release of Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope (which as it turns out might be the most aptly named game of all time). I think that this week highlights a major plus that Microsoft has right now which is that due to their price point people can afford to purchase their console to play one game. By that I mean it isn't so far out of the realm of possibility that the Japanese kids who bought an Xbox 360 this week to play Star Ocean 4 may not play any other game on the console (other then possibly Tales of Vesparia, and Blue Dragon). Can you imagine that happening if the console cost $500US? Obviously I have no misconception that this is going to be a long term trend, however for one week Microsoft is king* in Japan and that has to count for something right.

*Before you all email me I understand that the PSP (29,552) and the DSi (41,839) both sold more units then the 360, but give me this moment.



Universal Pictures European LIVE
Announced at a London event, UK Head of Xbox Neil Thompson announced that NBC Universal movies will now be available for streaming via the Netflix application on Xbox Live. Of course this move occurred previously in the United States, so this brings the European Xbox Live in line with the US service

Good news for the fish and chips wrapped in newspaper crowd. I'm not sure how many readers I have from the UK but I thought I'd throw them a bone this weekend with this story. I'm a bit nervous that they're not reading this and are instead watching Cheech and Chong: Up in Smoke over a bowl of Yorkshire Pudding. Either way, congratulations UK you've finally caught up to us American Netflix streamers.



Johnny Klebitz Rides High
Rockstar's GTA IV expansion "The Lost and Damned" has set an Xbox Live record, as it's first day sales revenue has eclipsed all other titles that have debuted on the service.

No surprise here. The exact numbers aren't available, but is anyone shocked that this DLC did better numbers then Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix? Or Bionic Commando: Rearmed? What I'm interested in is whether or not Johnny Klebitz was able to surpass the download numbers of the other Xbox Live heavyweights because keep in mind that at a price point of $20 per download, The Lost and Damned had some help in bypassing those other, less expensive games.



Jack Slate Back in Grant City
Volatile Games has announced that they are developing Dead to Rights: Retribution, a reimaging of the gritty crime drama franchise that will be published on both the Xbox 360 and PS3. The game will thrust players back into the role of Jack Slate and his sidekick/dog Shadow as they attempt to clean up the shadowy underworld figures exerting their evil grip over the crumbling Grant City.

Does anyone remember the original Dead to Rights? For whatever reason it's one of those games that I was really into at first, then put down for a weekend and never went back to. I think there was also a sequel right? From the sounds of things this isn't necessarily going to be an extension of the original storyline, but seems more along the lines of Batman Begins – where we will be rebooting the entire story moving forward. I'm fine with that, I think I remember the original being based on Jack Slate investigating the death of his father (at a construction site?), so there is some room to work with there. I also would love to say I'm excited to jump back into Grant City, but having never mustered up the ambition to play through the original to completion I'm apprehensive.



Welcome to Criterion Games Network
The once PC/PS3 exclusive Criterion Games Network is now accessible through Burnout Paradise for Xbox 360 users. The CGN brings with it the ability to gain access to DLC before it is "officially" released.

Just another story about Criterion giving their fans what they want, no surprise here. If more companies operated like Criterion and Valve we'd be living in the golden age of game support and innovation. I have to admit that every time I hear a positive story about Criterion I think that I owe it to myself, and to them to pick up Burnout Paradise – stay tuned because there is a very good chance that will be coming up soon as a Bargain Bin Classic.


-You may now access this with your Xbox 360

Reader Rants

Leading off this week we've got a couple people taking shots at me – who said I'm not equal opportunity. Up first is Smokey Joe: Ah hahahahahahahahaha Knight Industries Two Thousand = KITT not Kip.. do you check your facts? or was this a one-shot deal?

Ok first off Joe you're a hack mouth breather who is using the "one shot deal" line when that's clearly a tired, used up joke from the wrestling section. Don't bring your lame one liners over here pal. But more to the point, you're right – I'm a dope and I blame sleep deprevation for f'n up that KITT line and I did change it immediately. Next time try to insult me originally.

Next up we've got David who obviously enjoys the greatness of the PS3 You are making fun of PS3 not receiving the Lost and the Damned. Meh. It is a $20 piece of DLC. A bit of bright news for the PS3 is Epic's new found love for the system. The Titan Pack for Unreal 3 is coming exclusively to the PS3/PC.

Titan Pack--
--The Titan Pack also packs in 57 achievement awards, which are doled out as Steam Achievements for PC users and trophies for PS3 gamers.
--The Titan Pack will update the PS3 and PC editions of UT3 with 11 new multiplayer maps for the Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, Vehicle CTF, and Warfare modes, as well as eight maps previously released as part of the Xbox 360 edition of the game.

"Unreal Tournament 3 for Xbox 360 shipped with enhancements, new features, and content the PC and PS3 versions did not have. The Titan Pack brings these features and content, in addition to many enhancements, to the PC and PS3 versions. Given the file size requirements for updates on the Xbox 360 platform, we have no plans to release the Titan Pack for Xbox 360."
--Midway

I'm inclined to agree with David on Epic's newfound appreciation for the power of the PS3. On the other hand, most of this was a super charged version of stuff that was available when Unreal Tournament III dropped on the Xbox 360. For all the improvements that this DLC pack made for Unreal III I highly doubt that there are any Sony fanboys who would argue that this "Titan" pack is on par with "The Lost and Damned" DLC for GTAIV as far as exclusive DLC is concerned.

411mania's fifth favorite Robbins brother Drew Robbins wraps up his Mass Effect quandary this week: Yeah I guess I'll have to give Mass Effect a swing, but prying myself off of Street Fighter and the Dreamcast might be a pain.

I absolutely stand behind this decision by Mr. Robbins. Keep me updated on how you enjoy Mass Effect when you get around to giving it a try. The story of Commander Sheppard is one that should not be missed – especially as the new price point.

Another 411mania columnist weights in this week as Todd Vote has some thoughts on potential announcements from Microsoft: "I anticipate some major announcements at E3 this year from Microsoft to set their holiday lineup. Most of the stuff coming out of Microsoft during the early portions of this year has concerned how they will not talk about games until they're almost ready for launch which leads me to believe that they've got something up their sleeves for E3 this year."

Dear god... Please let it be Alan Wake. I've only been waiting about 3 years.

That Delorean in Burnout almost makes me want to go buy that game.

I've reached the point where I do not anticipate Alan Wake anymore. There is simply no chance that it can possibly live up to the hype that will follow this game around when it finally drops. Can anyone tell me when the last time a game that was in development for as long as Alan Wake has been in development lived up to the hype? Too Human is the last game that I can remember having a development period this extended and that game turned out to be an average at best mess. That being said, I think that Microsoft unveiling Alan Wake at E3 this year would be a major announcement, especially if the game is slated to drop before Christmas of this year. I don't hold out very high hopes for that happening, but hey I've been surprised before.

Red and I appear to be on the same wavelength: Matt Hazard looks like its going to be good!

Yes…yes it does Red. I only hope that D3 doesn't disappoint me with this one because over the past few weeks I've really hyped Matt Hazard up and I cannot wait to get my hands on this game.

And to close out the week Byzdalmyt is going to bring us home: cool to get my comment added in the section, but it doesn't say what it was in regards to!

For what it's worth, that comment was in regards to EA putting out a movie game tie in to this summer's live action GI JOE.

I was just saying it would be pretty cool to have all of the characters & vehicles in their original costumes from the comics/cartoon/action figures to be in a Battlefront type of game instead of the quick movie shovelware.

You could pick to fight for GI JOE or Cobra, blah blah blah same g.damn game formula as before. Hell, I'd take Lego GI JOE over what this movie tie will likely be.

I could not agree more with this sentiment. As a matter of fact I wish they would do a LEGO GI Joe instead of what I am certain will be a terrible movie tie in piece of shovelware. It's just so disappointing that something so cherished from my childhood is going to be treated so terribly. I am just hopeful that the game isn't so terrible that no developer touches the franchise after it – it's not a great sign when the most hopeful thing that can be said about a game is that you just don't want it to cripple the entire franchise when it comes out.

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The Viewing Room

Are Violent Video Games Preparing Children for the Apocalypse?

Are Violent Video Games Adequately Preparing Children For The Apocalypse?

Call of Juarez Debut Trailer – Cowboys are the new Dark Foreigners I Guess



Lost Planet 2 Announcement Trailer – With the addition of four player co-op this game has a lot of promise.



Here's the debut trailer for Dante's Inferno which they should just call God of War: Hell Edition



The Singularity unravel trailer – this game has a lot of promise, and I have very high hopes for it. Trailers like this one just reinforce my anticipation.



With each passing week my love of the idea behind "Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard" grows, and if there is a god someone from D3 is reading this right now so they know how excited I am to take out some "sexually ambiguous sorcerers" with Matt Hazard.

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Bargain Bin Classic: Prey

Disclaimer: Bargain Bin Classic is a monthly (bi montly, semi annual, one shot deal – who knows at this point) feature of The Full Circle that will contain the authors thoughts about a particular game that can be found in many local bargain bins. In these difficult economic times you might want a game for under twenty dollars, and this is where we'll talk about those games.

Well after much discussion this is the inaugural (and potentially only) Bargain Bin Classic Hot Button. I fully intend on doing one of these per month, although don't hold me to that because I'm known to lose my direction every now and again. After getting feedback from all of you I went out and rummaged through some bargain bins looking for some potential gems to review in this space and picked 3D Realm's 2006 first person shooter Prey as the first BBC.

First the basics, Prey was developed by Venom Games (for the console) and was published by 2K Studios and 3D Realms. It was released on July 11, 2006 in North America and on September 6, 2006 it became available on Steam.

The story in Prey is up and down. You're a Cherokee named Tommy who has a difficult time coming to terms with his heritage on a reservation. To keep all stereotypes alive the game starts in a bar, where your grandfather (a proud Cherokee) tries to tell you not to turn your back on your past. Your girlfriend Jen is behind the bar and after some thugs give her some shit you club them in the head with a wrench. That's when all hell breaks loose and an alien light in the sky sucks you into a space ship. Your grandfather and Jen are being held captive in the ship, which is full of crazy aliens who are eating people and its your job to save them. The mission takes you throughout this massive ship where you do encounter a wide range of enemies. One word of warning if you're playing this game with the lights off there is a few moments that'll make you jump, I enjoyed that.

As the game progresses you learn from your grandfather that you have the power to "Spirit Walk." Essentially leave your body as walk through otherwise impassable walls to help you solve puzzles. While you're in a spirit walk you'll have your own spirit energy, and no enemies can see you unless you attack them first. This is a nice addition as it allows you to explore the upcoming areas without being caught in a firefight. On the other hand it's never really explained why you're given this power and how you can utilize it so seamlessly. Of course it creates an awesome visual when you do a spirit walk and then turn around to face your lifeless body floating in the air.

Another thing that I really loved about the game is the radio reports that are broadcast on the ship. As you walk through the alien ship you'll come to things that look like TV screens with Earth on them. If you stand next to them until your spirit guide approaches it will start broadcasting what sounds like a radio call-in show. This addition was a welcome one because it allowed you to follow how the alien abductions were being handled on Earth while you were battling your way through the same aliens.

The end is pretty fantastic – that's about all I will say about that. I thought the final boss battle was a major disappointment, but the way the story is told at the end was worth the time you will spend with the game.

From the beginning you'll notice that Prey looks dated. Now obviously some of that is due in large part to the fact that the game came out 2 ½ years ago, but more to the point the game looks like Half Life 2, which is a game that was released in 2004. There isn't anything wrong with the graphics in Prey, I just thought that they were a bit dated even by 2006 standards (remember a few months later Gears of War would be released).

Graphic issues aside though Prey offers some elements that were ahead of their time. The most notable is the liberal use of portals that transport you around the alien ship, not only to another part of the ship, but potentially to a different wall/ceiling because the game utilizes different gravity changing tools to keep the rooms feeling fresh and offering unique ways to solve puzzles. If you're a conspiracy theorist you might have played through Prey in 2006, and then noticed the release of a simple tag along game packed within "The Orange Box" that looked eerily similar. I'm not trying to say that Valve might have hijacked the concept from Prey to create the phenomenal "Portal" but it's very clear that there was some inspiration gained.

But how does this game stack up as a bargain bin classic?

I normally support buying new copies of games. I know that a lot of money goes into creating these things and I'd always steer you towards new if that was available (both in your ability to find a new copy, and your financial ability to afford it). That being said, I could not find Prey new anywhere. I remember seeing it at Wal Mart a few months ago in the bargain rack for I believe $10, but it might have been $15. After coming to the realization that I wasn't going to be finding a new copy I found a used copy of the game for $7.99. While the storyline isn't exactly epic, and you can play through the single player campaign in under 10 hours – the fact remains that you cannot go wrong for eight bucks, and if you see Prey for that price point I highly recommend picking it up.

There are rumors that Prey is set for a sequel to drop around Christmas 2009, and if that's the case then you might want to get your hands on the original so that you can pick up and play what I imagine will be a fantastic game this holiday season.

My one word of warning and I know this is an anomaly – I got to the end of the game beating all 22 chapters, went through the credits, played through the "SIX MONTHS LATER" piece and then the game froze. So instead of getting my achievement for finishing the game on the default setting I have no achievement for that. So yeah, if I had to find one thing that upset me about Prey that'd be it.

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Punching Out

The 10th Hour by Derek Robbins

What I Hate About You by John De Large

Nintendophiles by Theo Fraser

B3yond the Report by Derek Robbins

The PC Spotlight by Chris Vicari

The Three Player Co-Op by Drew Robbins

What If? by Greg Bruno

Fact or Fiction by Ramon Aranda

The Release List by Tommy Coloma

Living LIVE by Trace Aber

What If? by Greg Bruno (not a repeat)

Screenshots
All 16 Lost Planet 2 Screenshots