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All Articles: Xbox 360
THQ has the power (to make games based on Mattel toys)
Like two action figures that come together to form an even bigger action figure, THQ will raid Mattel’s toy chest in a multi-year deal to create games based on many of the company’s biggest properties.
THQ currently has multiple Mattel-inspired games in the works, with the first scheduled for release this Fall. The deal will ultimately result in new THQ-published games based on many of Mattel’s biggest toy lines, including Barbie, Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price, Monster High, Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots, Polly Pocket and He-Man: Masters of the Universe.
THQ wasn’t ready to talk about specific games on specific platforms, but they did confirm that the agreement allows them to create games for consoles (both disc-based and downloadable games), handhelds, PCs, mobile devices and social networking platforms. However, THQ did reveal that at least one game will support the publisher’s uDraw GameTablet on the Wii.
Ilomilo added to XBLA
Even though it’s been available to download on the Xbox Live Arcade for several weeks now with a “super secret access code,” everyone will get a chance to play Southend Interactive’s Ilomilo today. The game marks the final entry in Microsoft’s “Games For the Holidays” promotion and features some cross-game unlockables with the two other titles, A World of Keflings and Raskulls.
Ilomilo is a puzzle platformer that has used its dreamlike imagery and secret launch to gather plenty of fans in the last few months. It’s been priced at 800 Microsoft Points ($10), just like the other Games For the Holidays titles.
You can read our review of Ilomilo later this morning.
X-Raying the Brain Training Trend
Brain games were all the rage back in 2006, but what happened to them? Despite the great reviews and large audience appeal, players stopped caring about Brain Age and Brain Age 2 roughly a month after they were each released. Repetitive gaming is only fun for so long. What newer thinking games are worth your time and money, and, more importantly, will they actually make you smarter?
Since the beginning of time, mankind has found ways to stretch their brains. Some strive to become smarter, while others thrive on being stupid. History lessons aside, the video gaming industry has found a way to capitalize on this idea, and has fairly successfully encapsulated the trend that is “brain gaming” – gaming that totally makes you “smarter.” (more…)
Tee it up at The Masters with Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12
EA Sports wants players to prepare to chase the most coveted prize in golf, The Green Jacket, as they’ve announced a special Masters edition of Tiger Woods PGA Tour is in the works.
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters recreates the famed Augusta National Golf Club in a project that’s been three years in the making at EA Tiburon. Players will be able to tee it up at the virtual Augusta on March 29, a week before the pros tackle the real Augusta.
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 will be available in two versions: a PS3, Wii and Xbox 360 standard edition and a PS3-exclusive Collector’s Edition that will include five additional courses. Both PS3 releases will also include PlayStation Move support.
For The Masters, EA Sports utilized a new laser scanning technology at Augusta National Golf Club to scan every hole featured in the game. According to the developer, this will ensure that “every tree, every azalea and every undulation in every green was recreated down to the smallest detail.”
Other new features players can look for when the game releases on March 29 are “Masters Moments” (Play through memorable Masters moments), “Tiger at the Masters” (see if your score can measure up to Tiger’s best performances) and an all-new Career Mode.
Posted in News
Tagged PS3, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters, Wii, Xbox 360
Pac-Man Championship Edition DX Review: Power Pellets Are An Addicting Drug
The original Pac-Man Championship Edition was a textbook example in how best to do a reboot of a classic franchise. It was respectful of its heritage without feeling old-fashioned. But it was also a completely fresh take on Pac-Man that made maze running feel brand new and was more addictive than ever. The sequel, Pac-Man Championship Edition DX, takes everything you loved about its predecessor and cranks it up to 11. There are more mazes, more modes, more ghosts and an even more addictive hook in the form of Leaderboards that are an ever-present part of the game. (more…)
Posted in Reviews
Tagged Pac-Man Championship Edition DX, PS3, Xbox 360
MicroBot coming to PlayStation Store tomorrow after last week’s XBLA launch
After quietly adding it to the Xbox Live Arcade last Wednesday, Electronic Arts has revealed that MicroBot, their “cure for the common arcade shooter” will be available on the PlayStation Store starting tomorrow, January 4. Developed by Naked Sky Entertainment, the PSN version of MicroBot will be priced at $10, which is equal to the 800 Microsoft Points the XBLA version is going for.
Players (either alone or as a two-player team) will dive inside the human body in MicroBot as they “travel through the bloodstream, bones, lungs and brain” to battle “malicious enemies.”
“When we set out to create MicroBot, we wanted to ensure it provided a unique gameplay experience setting it apart from other offerings in the digital download marketplace. By taking players inside a place they have rarely visited before – the human body – and giving gamers endless customization options, we made a game that lives up to that vision and, most importantly, provides an addictive gameplay experience for anyone who plays games on Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network,” said Jason Haber of Electronic Arts.
You can add MicroBot to your Xbox Live Download Queue right now.
Operation Hastings unlocked for BFBC2 Vietnam on consoles
Last year’s Battlefield 1943 saw a unique kind of community challenge where the final map in the DLC game would unlock on each console version once its community achieved 43 million kills. EA and DICE implemented a similar challenge for Battlefield Bad Company 2 Vietnam, but while PC players racked up the requisite 69 million support actions in no time, console players have had the competition ended early. To celebrate the new year, Operation Hastings is now unlocked for the 360 and PS3, before either community got a chance to do it themselves.
It makes you wonder if there’s simply a more “lone wolf” mentality when it comes to shooters on consoles, but in any case you can expect our own review of Battlefield Bad Company 2 Vietnam on Warp Zoned shortly.
Posted in News
Tagged Battlefield: Bad Company 2, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Johnny Cash rings in 2011 with Rock Band 3
The newly independent Harmonix has revealed that an eight-pack of Johnny Cash songs will lead off the Rock Band Store’s 2011 offerings.
The Man in Black has been a fixture over at that other music franchise for the last few years, but PS3, Wii and Xbox 360 Rock Band 3 owners will be able to download the following Cash classics on January 4 as part of the Johnny Cash Track Pack 01:
- “Cry, Cry, Cry”
- “Don’t Take Your Guns to Town”
- “Five Feet High and Rising”
- “Folsom Prison Blues”
- “I Got Stripes”
- “I Walk the Line” (Pro Guitar/Bass Available)
- “Tennessee Flat Top Box” (Pro Guitar/Bass Available)
- “The Ballad of Ira Hayes”
As usual, individual songs can be downloaded for $1.99/200 Wii Points/160 Microsoft Points each while the Pro Guitar/Bass upgrades can be purchased for a dollar more. All of the songs will also be available as a track pack, which will be priced at $13.49/1350 Wii Points/1,080 Microsoft Points.
If those prices sound a bit steep to you, Harmonix also plans to launch the Rock Band Free Pack 01 on the PS3 and Xbox 360 this week as well. As the name implies, the developer will dish up nine songs for free, all of which previously appeared as hidden tracks on Rock Band or Rock Band 2:
- Abnormality – “Visions”
- Anarchy Club – “Get Clean”
- Bang Camaro – “Night Lies”
- Breaking Wheel – “Shoulder to the Plow”
- Libyans – “Welcome to the Neighborhood”
- The Main Drag – “A Jagged Gorgeous Winter”
- Speck – “Conventional Lover”
- The Sterns – “Supreme Girl”
- That Handsome Devil – “Rob the Prez-O-Dent”
Posted in News
Tagged PS3, Rock Band 3, Wii, Xbox 360