Articles tagged "xbox 360"

News

A reignited console war means a happy holiday for gamers

by Brian Crecente [Kotaku.com (MCT)]

[1.Sep.09] :. The long-simmering war between the Playstation 3, Wii and Xbox 360 has boiled over in time for the holidays thanks to dual price drops that put all three consoles within $50 of each other. In a much...

PopWire

News

Microsoft to eliminate the need for game controllers

by Troy Wolverton [San Jose Mercury News (MCT)]

[4.Jun.09] :. LOS ANGELES — The days when video game playing required mastering a complex controller may soon be a thing of the past, if Microsoft has its way. At the E3 video game conference here, company...

PopWire

Moving Pixels

The Race for a New Game Machine: Eight is Beautiful (Book Review, Part 2)

by Mike Schiller

[17.Apr.09] :. It's not a perfect book, but those interested in the story of how the current generation of consoles came to be will find plenty to capture their interest.

Moving Pixels

Moving Pixels

The Race for a New Game Machine: The Hardware/Software Conflict (Book Review, Part 1)

by Mike Schiller

[12.Mar.09] :. Concentrating on the narrative that David Shippy and Mickie Phipps tell in The Race for a New Game Machine is made difficult by a conflict in perspective.

Moving Pixels

Multimedia Review

Afro Samurai

by Ryan Smith

[6.Mar.09] :. Afro Samurai would be a little too self-serious if it wasn't for Ninja-Ninja, a white-haired, impish character that can best be described as Samuel L. Jackson playing Samuel L. Jackson.

Recent Multimedia reviews

Multimedia Review

The Maw

by Thomas Cross

[11.Feb.09] :. The only major problem with The Maw is the pacing and speed of gameplay. Unfortunately, it's a crippling sort of problem.

Recent Multimedia reviews

Tom Clancy’s EndWar

by G. Christopher Williams

[2.Feb.09] :. Tom Clancy's EndWar takes the premise of leading through words and literalizes the experience for the real time strategy game.

Prince of Persia

by G. Christopher Williams

[23.Jan.09] :. The effort here is to provide a fantastic experience, not at all intellectual but one driven by velocity and the player's own gut.

Midnight Club: Los Angeles

by Ryan Smith

[16.Jan.09] :. Even if you're not actually walking around on the streets or going into buildings, the Los Angeles here feels just as fully realized as New York City does in Grand Theft Auto 4.

Why Gears 2’s Story Works

by Mike Schiller

[9.Jan.09] :. A defense of the narrative elements in Gears of War 2.

Call of Duty: World at War

by G. Christopher Williams

[9.Jan.09] :. Call of Duty: World at War's catalysts for combat personalize the brutality that the player will mete out on the Axis by dehumanizing and "othering" the Japanese and the Germans as barbarians and monsters.

Gears of War 2

by Ryan Smith

[18.Dec.08] :. Gears of War 2 is a sequel with nearly perfect gameplay sullied by silly, derivative and downright ridiculous story and dialogue.

Mirror’s Edge

by Arun Subramanian

[15.Dec.08] :. Mirror's Edge clearly treats parkour with a good deal of respect and admiration.

Quantum of Solace

by G. Christopher Williams

[12.Dec.08] :. The hybridization of Quantum of Solace's first person mechanics with gameplay styles more often found in third person action titles lends the Bond game a curiously more elegant and thoughtful approach to first-person shooting.

Silent Hill: Homecoming

by Jason Cook

[19.Nov.08] :. "Atmosphere" is the key word when talking about Silent Hill, and Homecoming is no different.

ZA Critique: Call of Duty 4

by L.B. Jeffries

[18.Nov.08] :. A break down of the passive sequences in Call of Duty 4 as amusement park rides. Spoilers Abound.

Pure

by Darwin Hang

[12.Nov.08] :. Pure will appeal to those who already ride ATVs and wonder what it'd be like to ride without our world's current gravitational limits.

Crash: Mind Over Mutant

by Mike Schiller

[10.Nov.08] :. All of the platforming in Crash: Mind Over Mutant takes place in one continuously-generated world, with every area eventually accessible from every other area in that world.

Saints Row 2

by G. Christopher Williams

[31.Oct.08] :. Saints Row 2, more so than many other open world games, has a real tendency to drive one to distraction.

The Console War

by L.B. Jeffries

[21.Oct.08] :. A Dramatization of the Console War of 2008.

Lego Batman

by G. Christopher Williams

[17.Oct.08] :. With Lego Batman, it feels like the Lego series has finally hit its stride.

Too Human

by G. Christopher Williams

[15.Oct.08] :. Too Human is more or less a Diablo clone.

‘Fracture’ and ‘Mercenaries 2’ offer solid gaming action — and fun

by Justin Hoeger [McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)]

[13.Oct.08] :. Sometimes a good, dumb action game is just what the doctor ordered. Take these two. First up: “Fracture.” It’s nothing earthshaking, but it has a few neat twists. The game is...

Infinite Undiscovery

by Ryan Smith

[8.Oct.08] :. As much as Undiscovery's combat feels fresh, the plot feels like it was something taken from the Generic JRPG Plot discount rack.

Facebreaker

by Jason Cook

[6.Oct.08] :. The AI fighters are unrelenting in their quest to turn your face into a smashed melon.

Mercenaries 2: World in Flames

by Ryan Smith

[26.Sep.08] :. Things like plot, moral compasses, characters and dialogue are all secondary concerns in Mercenaries 2.

Darth Vader trains an evil apprentice in ‘Star Wars: The Force Unleashed’

by Justin Hoeger [McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)]

[22.Sep.08] :. There’s a part in the most recent Harry Potter film where Dumbledore and Voldemort face off. All the fabulous powers of magic that have been hinted at in the previous four movies come to bear...

Microsoft’s Xbox price cuts are welcome, but make sure you do the math

by Victor Godinez [The Dallas Morning News (MCT)]

[9.Sep.08] :. This week’s price cuts on the Xbox 360 console are a smart move by Microsoft. Overdue, but smart. In case you missed the announcement, here’s the skinny: The Xbox 360 Arcade dropped...

Classic arcade run-and-gun games enjoy a renaissance in console configurations

by Justin Hoeger [McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)]

[29.Aug.08] :. Early in the Xbox 360’s life, gamers saw a flood of old arcade games released on the fledgling Xbox Live Arcade, and it was good - kind of. 1942: JOINT STRIKE 3 stars SYSTEM: Microsoft...

Beijing 2008

by Jamie Lynn Dunston

[22.Aug.08] :. Gaming should have evolved a bit over the course of the last twenty four years.

Enemy Territory: Quake Wars

by Mike Schiller

[20.Aug.08] :. Enemy Territory: Quake Wars' journey from PCs to consoles was apparently a bumpy one.

Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Conspiracy

by G. Christopher Williams

[8.Aug.08] :. Bourne seems like the kind of cool action hero that might well easily transition to the role of the protagonist of a video game.

Battlefield: Bad Company

by G. Christopher Williams

[1.Aug.08] :. A first-person shooter focused more on fun than authenticity or a deeply written narrative is actually a bit refreshing.

The Question of Challenge (or the Lack Thereof) in Guitar Hero: Aerosmith

by Mike Schiller

[23.Jul.08] :. Hopefully, fans of the Guitar Hero franchise who are also inclined to visit this here site have already seen Ryan Smith’s review of Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, which as far as my...

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith

by Ryan Smith

[21.Jul.08] :. Despite a few interesting new things, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith really isn't much more than a Guitar Hero III expansion pack with a thin coat of Aerosmith paint splashed on.

Kung Fu Panda

by Mike Schiller

[9.Jul.08] :. It's actually really refreshing to find this kind of difficulty in what is ostensibly a kids' game.

NBA Ballers: Chosen One

by Joe Bernstein

[30.Jun.08] :. Sitting solitary in a totally anonymous, ESPN-on-a-budget studio, Chuck D looks and sounds like a 48-year-old who knows much better.

Devil May Cry 4

by Joe Bernstein

[2.May.08] :. Devil May Cry 4 intermittently strives for a kind of high-Gothic camp, but it jumps willy-nilly into steampunk, lasers-and-robots future shock, and lost-civilization exoticism.

Debut of ‘Grand Theft Auto IV’ drives debate anew

by Eric Benderoff [Chicago Tribune (MCT)]

[28.Apr.08] :. From the rocket-propelled grenade that shoots down a police helicopter to the punch in the face delivered to a former friend, the depictions of realistic violence in the newest “Grand Theft...

Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom

by Ryan Smith

[23.Apr.08] :. There are so many head-scratchingly puzzling things about this Xbox 360 game that it's hard to know where to start.

‘Command & Conquer 3’ delves into star’s history; ‘War’ is now for Xbox 360

by Justin Hoeger [McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)]

[21.Apr.08] :. The star of “Command & Conquer” is, and always has been, Kane. The scenery-chewing leader of the Brotherhood of Nod is responsible for a large part of the main series’ campy...

Condemned 2: Bloodshot

by Ryan Smith

[18.Apr.08] :. Condemned 2: Bloodshot is entertaining enough, but it still feels like it's written by two socially awkward 15-year-old boys who dress in black and listen to a little too much Slipknot.

Major League Baseball 2K8

by Jason Cook

[16.Apr.08] :. MLB 2K8 has gone the innovation route, overhauling many standards of the baseball sim, making it an interesting experiment in what baseball games can be.

An Axis of Evil to Get Behind

by Mike Schiller

[27.Mar.08] :. In this edition of Checkpoints, we blast off with Rocketmen: Axis of Evil.

Learning to Dance for Flannigan’s Ball

by Mike Schiller

[20.Mar.08] :. Checkpoints take brief looks at downloadable and independent releases. Today we throw back a couple o' pints and take on the Dropkick Murphys Guitar Hero III track pack.

Dark Messiah of Might and Magic: Elements

by Ryan Smith

[19.Mar.08] :. Dark Messiah of Might and Magic: Elements is the cheesy '80s flick of the modern role-playing scene.

Turok

by G. Christopher Williams

[3.Mar.08] :. Turok has some sneaky ways of getting the dinos to do his bidding by luring them with flares to enemy forces, allowing the player to sit back and watch the carnage ensue.

Xbox 360 to allow downloading of user-generated games

by Victor Godinez [The Dallas Morning News (MCT)]

[26.Feb.08] :. User-generated content is one of the Internet’s big buzzwords these days, covering everything from Mentos videos on YouTube to embarrassing I-was-so-drunk snapshots on Facebook. But the concept...

Burnout Paradise

by Arun Subramanian

[11.Feb.08] :. Burnout Paradise strives to be more than traditional, and in many ways it succeeds, but some of the design choices may prove unappealing for people who simply wanted a modest update to the franchise.

Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground

by Darwin Hang

[7.Feb.08] :. The online play in Tony Hawk's Proving Ground fares well, because you can take people on while you psychoanalyze their avatars.