Xbox Live « NYLatenite’s Gamer’s Paradise

XBOX 360 BULLY: SCHOLARSHIP EDITION PATCH NOW AVAILABLE

Those of you who have been having issues with the Xbox 360 version of Rockstar's Bully: Scholarship Edition rejoice – a patch that should fix the sound, video and lockup issues many have been experiencing is now available as an automatic update via Xbox Live.

To get the patch, simply connect your console to Xbox Live and pop the Bully disc into your drive – you'll be prompted to download the patch before you can begin playing. Enjoy!

Bully: Scholarship Edition – Official website

March 22, 2008 Posted by nylatenite | Patch, Rockstar, Xbox 360, Xbox Live | Leave a comment

XBOX 360 CALL OF DUTY 4 PATCH ARRIVES

The wait is over… at least for Xbox 360 Call of Duty 4 owners. Infinity Ward has finally released the long awaited patch for some of the problems plaguing the console version of CoD4. Players will be automatically prompted to receive the download if connected to Xbox Live the next time they play the game. (PC Owners please note; I believe all of these fixes have been available for the PC for quite some time now, so if you haven't patched CoD4 yet, you may want to look into it)

Number one on my wish list was a fix for the accuracy problems that have so far made using a sniper's rifle or ACOG scope more of a detriment than a benefit. According to the patch message, those problems should now be gone. I haven't tested the ACOG scopes yet, but from my experiences, the standard sniper rifles have definitely seen an increase in accuracy, making them once again an enjoyable option.

If that had been the only fix, I would have been a happy man – but Infinity Ward decided that happy wasn't good enough. According to Infinity Ward Community Director Robert "FourZeroTwo" Bowling, the company fixed quite a few issues in yesterday's patch. Let's take a look;

"New Kill Cams – Everything that can kill you has a Kill Cam now. Grenades, Airstrikes, Claymores, C4, M203 Rounds, RPGs, anything. So jump online, get owned alittle and check them out. They’re awesome, especially Grenades and M203 shots that go across the map and through a window.

Host Migration – Host migration was added, so now when the host leaves you won’t get dropped back to your own lobby by yourself. Everyone will stay together. Host Leaves, everyone returns to lobby, selects next best host, and the game starts up again. No more re-inviting, re-partying up because a host ended the game.

Improved Sniper Accuracy – The Sniper rifle accuracy has been improved. No more, WTF? shots now. Your cross hair will be a better representation of where your shot will ultimately land. Try out a sniper class today, let us know how the new accuracy feels.

Improved ACOG Scope Accuracy – ACOG scopes accuracy on any weapon has been improved. Test it out, throw it on one of your classes and give it a go.

Upgraded Spectator Cam – Now when you’re a spectator you have the option to follow in 3rd person or 1st person. As well as rotate 360 degrees around the player you’re watching. Next time you’re dead in Search and Destroy and just watching your team mates do stuff you know you can do better, now do it in 1st person or rotate around them.

Quick Mute Option – Now you can easily and quickly mute players in-game or in-lobby without ever going through the Xbox Live blades. Just go to their gamertag on screen and hit ‘A’ to quick mute in lobby, or via the in-game scoreboard if playing. Quick. Easy. Salvation!

In addition to these feature additions there will also be:

Improved Network Performance For Larger Games – 18 player games now require more bandwidth to host, resulting in smoother performance for players.

Optimized Server Selection for First Match – Server selection is now optimized to select best bandwidth servers associated by LSP.

Fixed “Playlist Older Than Host” Error – Player will no longer get this error when entering games.

Additional Start Spawn Locations in All Maps – Added a minimum of 9 extra start spawns on each side of all maps." – Robert "FourZeroTwo" Bowling

Overall, this is a great patch for the game, taking into account many of player's complaints and suggestions. Sadly, while the patch notes list some network performance fixes, I still found the same old lag in several of the games I played. Looks like there's still some improvement needed on that end.

Finally, lest PlayStation 3 owners feel slighted, FourZeroTwo confirmed that there is a PlayStation 3 version of this patch going through certification at Sony, and will be available as soon as that testing is done.

Call of Duty 4 – Official website
Call of Duty 4 Xbox 360 Patch is OUT – Here's What's Changed – IAMfourzerotwo

March 1, 2008 Posted by nylatenite | Activision Blizzard, Announcements, Call of Duty, FPS, Infinity Ward, Patch, Xbox 360, Xbox Live | Leave a comment

MICROSOFT CONFIRMS FREE GAME COMING TO LIVE SUBSCRIBERS

If you remember, last week we reported on a rumor that Microsoft was considering compensating Xbox Live members for the recent string of outages and issues with the service by giving away a free game – as it would turn out, that rumor has now been partially confirmed by Microsoft.

In a recent post on MajorNelson.com, Xbox Live General Manager Marc Whitten confirmed that the company does plan on giving away a free Live Arcade title to Live subscribers.

"During this past holiday season you helped us break a number of Xbox LIVE records. This included our largest sign-up of new members to Xbox LIVE in our 5 year history and just yesterday you broke the record for the single biggest day of concurrent members ever on the service.

As a result of this massive increase in usage we know that some of you experienced intermittent Xbox LIVE issues over the holiday break. While the service was not completely offline at any given time, we are disappointed in our performance. I would like to take this moment to thank each and every one of you for your patience and understanding as our team has worked around the clock to return the service to a stable state.

At the same time we would like to offer a token of our appreciation to all of you in celebration of record success for the service. And as a thank you for your loyalty during this holiday period, we will be offering all of our Xbox LIVE members around the world access to a full Xbox LIVE Arcade game that will be available to download free of charge. In the coming weeks we will be sharing the specific details of this offer with you.

Thank you again for helping make Xbox LIVE everything that it is today!" – Marc Whitten

Interestingly, the above statement doesn't state that the game is being given out because of the issues, but rather as a gift to members because of the growth of the service – something which certainly may have led to the opening several people in Texas felt was needed to file a class-action lawsuit against Microsoft for the aforementioned issues.

It still remains to be seen just what game Microsoft plans on giving away, though at this point anything other than a quality title that no one currently owns is certain to just fan the internet flames even more.

Xbox LIVE Holiday Performance – MajorNelson.com
Xbox Live Still Recovering, Rumors of Compensation Surface – nylatenite.com
Parasites Sue Microsoft for Xbox Live Failures – Destructoid
Microsoft Taking Care Of It's Gold Members After Last Weeks Live Outage – The Bitbag
Microsoft to Compensate Customers For LIVE Downtime? – Kotaku

January 6, 2008 Posted by nylatenite | Downtime, Free Games, Microsoft, Rumor Confirmed, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade | Leave a comment

XBOX LIVE STILL RECOVERING, RUMORS OF COMPENSATION SURFACE

As many of you have no doubt noticed, Xbox Live has been a bit wonky since just after Christmas. Numerous reports of issues with signing in, buying marketplace content, accessing downloaded content and matchmaking problems in both Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4 have been flooding in since just after the start of the holidays.

Rest assured, the folks at Microsoft are well aware of the situation and, according to Xbox Live Director of Programming Larry "Major Nelson" Hyrb, have been working around the clock to get the problems resolved. While most of the service is back up and running, some users may still be experiencing issues – and unfortunately, there is still no ETA on a full fix.

"You may have noticed that the LIVE service has been having a few issues over the past few days. This includes things like signing in, matchmaking and account recovery. Not everyone has had problems, but I know some of you have and I wanted to give you and update. While the service was never completely offline, problems like this are not acceptable. The entire LIVE team has been working day and night to ensure that you can have a great LIVE experience. While we’re not done yet, I wanted to let you know that things are getting better each hour and that no one on the team is going anywhere until the job is done. Thanks for your patience.

Edit: As people have noticed, we have made good progress. We have a bit more work to do, but we’re doing much better now. I know some of you still may be having issues, and we’re working on those. Oh, and Happy New Year to those that are celebrating." – Larry "Major Nelson" Hyrb

Before anyone runs off to get the torches, according to a gaming blog called The Bitbag (found by way of Kotaku), an unnamed source at Microsoft confirmed that the company does plan on compensating Xbox Live Gold members for the outage, though no exact details on what that would entail were given.

"I got some info from my Microsoft contact after questioning whether or not Gold Members will get thrown a bone for all the downtime they had to sit through. While nothing has been officially announced, they have stated, “…we will definitely be doing something for our Gold members that weren’t able to get online over the last week.”" – Torrence Davis, The Bitbag

While it's just an unconfirmed rumor at this point, I certainly wouldn't be surprised to see at least a few days added onto everyone's expiry dates or the like.

Xbox LIVE Status (Updated) – Major Nelson
Microsoft Taking Care Of It's Gold Members After Last Weeks Live Outage – The Bitbag
Microsoft to Compensate Customers For LIVE Downtime? – Kotaku

January 1, 2008 Posted by nylatenite | Downtime, Major Nelson, Microsoft, Rumors, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Marketplace | 1 Comment

XBOX 360 GETS ANOTHER BACKWARDS COMPATIBILITY UPDATE!

Football fans everywhere let out a massive cheer as Microsoft rolled out the latest Backwards Compatibility list for the Xbox 360 and at long last, ESPN NFL 2K5 made the list. That's right, the game that is, in my opinion, still the best football game out there is now playable on the Xbox 360.

Today's update list included quite a few other titles people have been pining for, I'm just overjoyed (as you can obviously tell) that at long last 2K5 has arrived on the 360. Now to wait for people to figure out how to transfer roster updates over…

While I'm waiting, why don't you check out the list of newly added Xbox BC titles below – enjoy!

2006 Fifa World Cup Germany
25 to Life
AMF Bowling 2004
Apex
Arena Football
Armed and Dangerous
Baldurs Gate: Dark Alliance
Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu
Bionicle
Blade II
Blinx: The Timesweeper
Blitz: The League
Blood Omen 2
Blowout
Breakdown
Burnout 2: Point of Impact
Cabelas Dangerous Hunts 2
Championship Manager 2006
Colin McRae Rally 2005
Crime Life: Gang Wars
Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2
Dungeons & Dragons Heroes
ESPN College Hoops 2k5
ESPN NFL 2k5
Fantastic 4
FIFA 06 Soccer
Fight Night: Round 3
Final Fight: Streetwise
Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone
Freedom Fighters
Freestyle Street Soccer
Future Tactics: The Uprising
Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee
Godzilla: Save the Earth
Goldeneye: Rogue Agent
Greg Hastings Tournament Paintball Max'd
High Heat MLB 2004
Hunter: The Reckoning
Indiana Jones And The Emperors Tomb
MLB Slugfest Loaded
MVP Baseball 2003
MVP Baseball 2004
Nascar Thunder 2002
Nascar Thunder 2003
NBA 2k3
NBA Ballers
NBA Inside Drive 2002
NBA Street V3
NCAA College Basketball 2k3
NCAA March Madness 2005
NCAA March Madness 2006
NFL 2k2
NFL 2k3
NHL 2005
NHL 2K3
NHL Hitz Pro
Nightcaster: Defeat The Darkness
NTRA Breeders Cup: World Thoroughbred Championships
Playboy: The Mansion
RLH: Hunt or be Hunted
Robin Hood: Defender of the Crown
Rocky
Rugby 2006
Shattered Union
Shrek Super Party
Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter
Starsky & Hutch
Syberia II
Techmo Classic Arcade
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
Test Drive
The Bard's Tale
The Chronicles of Narnia The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
The Guy Game
The Lord Of The Rings: The Third Age
Thousand Land
Thrillville
Tom and Jerry in War of the Whiskers
Turok: Evolution
Van Helsing
WarPath
Worms 3D
Zathura

November 28, 2007 Posted by nylatenite | 2K Football, 2K Sports, Backwards Compatibility, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox Live | Leave a comment

XBOX LIVE TURNS FIVE YEARS OLD – FREEBIES HIT MARKETPLACE

Xbox Live turns five years old today, and to celebrate Microsoft is rolling out a bunch of freebies for the masses via the Xbox Live Marketplace. That's right – Xbox Live is having a birthday, but we get the presents.

"Wait… presents? What presents?", you ask – well, let me tell you all about them;

Carcassonne

On Thursday, November 15th and Friday, November 16th, Carcassonne – the Xbox Live version of the classic European board game – will be made available to all Xbox Live subscribers as a free download. The game is normally priced at 800 points ($10), so be sure to grab it during this 48 hour window.

Xbox Dashboard Themes

Microsoft will be offering the following "special edition" Dashboard Themes available as free downloads;

Live is 5ive – A dashboard theme celebrating five years of Xbox Live.
Return to Castle Wolfenstein – A dashboard theme based on the game of the same name.
Gears of War – A dashboard theme based on the game of the same name.
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2 – A dashboard theme based on the game of the same name.
Halo 2 – A dashboard theme based on the game of the same name.
Mech Assault – A dashboard theme based on the game of the same name.

Special 5 Year Member Bonus

Xbox Live members who have been with the service since the very beginning will be receiving 500 Microsoft points ($6.25) and a few bits of "exclusive content" as Microsoft's way of saying "Thank You". According to the promotional page, those eligible will be receiving more details via e-mail. I've been a member since day one and haven't seen that e-mail yet, so I'm assuming it won't be sent out until the promotion is fully underway.

It's definitely been a fun five years and I think just about everyone will agree that Xbox Live is without a doubt THE defining feature of the Xbox 360. It really is amazing when you stop and think just how fast the service has grown since the launch of the 360.

Think about it – at the time Live was launched, many people said it would never work, that no one would be willing to pay for the privilege of playing their games online. Microsoft took that challenge and presented a solid service on the original Xbox that many (myself included) felt was well worth the price and then massively expanded the concept with the Xbox 360 while raising the quality of that service even farther. If there is one thing Microsoft has done right since their entry into the console market, it would have to be Xbox Live.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY XBOX LIVE – SEE YOU AT THE 10 YEAR MARK!

Xbox Live is 5ive – Xbox.com

November 15, 2007 Posted by nylatenite | Announcements, Free Games, Free Stuff, Microsoft, Woot!, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Marketplace | Leave a comment

XBOX LIVE DOWN FOR MAINTENANCE THIS MORNING

Just a quick note here – according to Xbox Live Director of Programming Larry "Major Nelson" Hyrb, Xbox Live (and Xbox.com) will be down for maintenance in the early hours of this morning (11/13) and should be back online some time after 5:00am EST.

"On Tuesday November 13th from 0000-0200 PT our engineering team will be performing server maintenance.

Specifically, Xbox.com maintenance will begin at 0000 while the Xbox LIVE service maintenance will begin at 0100.

That means you can stay on LIVE until approximately 0100.

Click this link to find out what time the maintenance will begin in your time zone

Both Xbox.com and Xbox LIVE will be available again at 0200.

This is for maintenance only, there will be no new features that will appear on Xbox.com, your dashboard or Xbox Live when we return to service. It’s not time for the dashboard update…yet." – Major Nelson

I'll keep my fingers crossed that everything goes as planned for those of you who happen to have the day off and were hoping to get some online gaming in today.

Xbox Live Maintenance (11/13) – Major Nelson

November 13, 2007 Posted by nylatenite | Announcements, Maintenance, Major Nelson, Microsoft, Xbox 360, Xbox Live | Leave a comment

XBOX LIVE BRINGING IT HOME: TOKYO GAME SHOW ‘07 – DAY TWO

As you may have figured out already by how late today’s posts are going up, I’m a bit rushed at the moment. Microsoft has continued uploading selected content from the Tokyo Game Show to Xbox Live subscribers everywhere via a "Bringing it Home" promotion. Here’s the new stuff you can expect to find from Friday’s update;

Content: Lost Odyssey – Trailer
Price: Free
Availability: All regions
Size: 103.06 MB
Dash Text: [ESRB: RP (Rating Pending)] Lost Odyssey trailer (Tokyo Game Show 2007)

Content: Sega Rally – Trailer
Price: Free
Availability: All regions
Dash Text: [ESRB: RP (Rating Pending)] Sega Rally trailer shown at Tokyo Game Show 2007.

Content: Xbox 360 Title Montage – Video
Price: Free
Availability: All regions
Size: 270.96 MB
Dash Text: [ESRB: RP (Rating Pending)] Upcoming Titles shown at Tokyo Game Show 2007.

I’m not sure if the promo is over yet as, while the show runs through Sunday, Microsoft generally doesn’t update the Live Marketplace on weekends. Should more TGS ’07 content hit the marketplace, I’ll be sure to post it.

September 22, 2007 Posted by nylatenite | Bringing it Home, Promotion, Tokyo Game Show, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Marketplace | Leave a comment

XBOX LIVE BRINGING IT HOME: TOKYO GAME SHOW ‘07 – DAY ONE

Microsoft is once again bringing selected content from the Tokyo Game Show to Xbox Live subscribers everywhere via a “Bringing it Home” promotion. As par for the course, I’ll be highlighting the content being offered for free via the Live Marketplace, so be sure to check back each day as Microsoft is sure to be loading the marketplace will tons of promotional materials to prepare gamers for the holiday season rush.

We’ve already gotten the demo for Viva Pinata Party Animals out of the way, so all that’s left to talk about right now are the trailers that hit Live yesterday. Here’s what you can expect to find;

Content: Devil May Cry 4 Summer 2007 Trailer
Price: Free
Availability: All regions
Size: 94.51 MB
Dash Text: [ESRB: RP (Rating Pending)] View the latest trailer for the newest installment in the mega-hit action series Devil May Cry. Old faces-off against new with series stalwart Dante taking on new hero, Nero, in a highlight reel of Devil May Cry 4’s opening scenes.

Content: Xbox LIVE Arcade Montage – Video
Price: Free
Availability: All regions
Dash Text: [ESRB: RP (Rating Pending)] Xbox LIVE Arcade Montage shown at Tokyo Game Show 2007.

Content: VF5 Demo Trailer
Price: Free
Availability: All regions except Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan
Size: 75.15 MB
Dash Text: [ESRB: T (Teen) SUGGESTIVE THEMES,USE OF ALCOHOL,VIOLENCE] Virtua Fighter 5, the world-renowned fighting game, now features online gameplay. VF5 also lets you download replay data of top players from its online leaderboards, and includes the latest updates to game balance, in-game items, and CPU rival character AI. Check out the excitement now in this downloadable movie.

Content: VF5 Demo Movie
Price: Free
Availability: Only in Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan
Size: 78.87 MB
Dash Text: Virtua Fighter 5, the world-renowned fighting game, now features online gameplay. VF5 also lets you download replay data of top players from its online leaderboards, and includes the latest updates to game balance, in-game items, and CPU rival character AI. Check out the excitement now in this downloadable movie. (Not Rated)

Content: ACE COMBAT 6 TRAILER #02 Full Trailer (480p/720p)
Price: Free
Availability: All Xbox LIVE regions
Dash Text: ACE COMBAT 6 full trailer available now! The paths of a broken family, a fallen ace, a scheming soldier and a fated pilot intertwine, as they struggle to overcome the intense flames of war. Swarms of fighter jets race across the horizon as massive missile explosions blanket the sky. Take part in the intense drama of the battlefield, and witness Ace Combat redefined! (Not Rated)

Content: Dark Sector Webisode #1 (HD)
Price: Free
Availability: All regions
Dash Text: [ESRB: RP (Rating Pending)] Dive deeper into the world of Dark Sector with this series of webisodes. For more information go to www.darksector.com

Content: KUF:COD TGS Gameplay Trailer
Price: Free
Availability: All regions except Japan
Size: 79.96 MB
Dash Text: [ESRB: M (Mature) BLOOD AND GORE,SUGGESTIVE THEMES,VIOLENCE] New KUF:COD Trailer featuring gameplay and story sequences…Launching Winter 2007. Answer the call to battle in this Action-RPG where the Lords of Light and Darkness wage war for ultimate dominion. To save the world from eternal darkness, you must overcome hordes of demented monsters, journey through twisted, surreal environments and face unspeakable nightmares. Use your strength and skill to end the Circle of Doom and bring back the Light!

Be sure to check back tomorrow for the next batch of TGS goodies!

September 21, 2007 Posted by nylatenite | Bringing it Home, Promotion, Tokyo Game Show, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Marketplace | Leave a comment

XBOX LIVE BRINGING IT HOME: COMIC-CON 2007 – DAY TWO

Day two of the Bringing it Home: Comic-Con 2007 promotion has come and gone, and quite sadly, not much in the way of freebies hit the Live Marketplace during it’s reign, so this is going to be a pretty short post. In fact, there were only two free items on yesterday’s list, and both of them are promotional items for Rush Hour 3. Yeah, I’m as thrilled as you are.

Themes
Content: Rush Hour 3 Theme
Price: Free
Availability: Only in United States
Dash Text: This summer they’re kicking it in Paris. Make sure you download the Theme and Gamer pics of Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker in Rush Hour 3, in theaters August 10th.

Gamer Pictures
Content: Rush Hour 3 Picture Pack
Price: Free
Availability: Only in United States
Dash Text: This summer they’re kicking it in Paris. Download the Rush Hour 3 GamerPics and don’t forget the Theme. Rush Hour 3 in theaters August 10th.

Wow, those crickets sure are deafening, aren’t they?

July 28, 2007 Posted by nylatenite | Bringing it Home, Microsoft, Promotion, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Marketplace | Leave a comment

MICROSOFT ONCE AGAIN BRINGING E3 HOME VIA XBOX LIVE

While the format of E3 may have changed, the desire of gamers to get an early peek at upcoming games – and more importantly, take them for a test drive – is just as strong as ever. Fortunately for Xbox 360 owners, Microsoft plans to once again host “E3: Bringing it Home” on Xbox Live.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the “Bringing it Home” promotion, last year Microsoft decided that one of the best ways they could utilize Xbox Live during E3 was to present members with many of the same trailers and demos that were available on the show floor. It was a great use of the service and, in many ways, really did help to bring the experience home for those of us who couldn’t attend.

According to Gamerscore Blog, the promo will run alongside the show from Tuesday, July 10th 2007 through Friday, July 13th. Xbox Live members can expect to see content for the following games during this timer period. Please note that according to Gamerscore Blog, these are not the only titles we’ll be seeing content for – so there should be some surprises as well.

Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation (Namco Bandai)
Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft)
BioShock (2K)
Blue Dragon (Microsoft Game Studios)
Burnout Paradise (Electronic Arts Inc.)
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision)
FIFA Soccer 08 (Electronic Arts)
Guitar Hero III (Activision/RedOctane)
Lost Odyssey (Microsoft Game Studios)
“Madden NFL 08” (Electronic Arts)
NCAA Football 08 (Electronic Arts)
Need for Speed: ProStreet (Electronic Arts)
Project Gotham Racing 4 (Microsoft Game Studios)
The Simpsons Game (Electronic Arts)
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 (Electronic Arts)
WWE® SmackDown® vs. Raw® 2008 (THQ)

While Microsoft has made no announcements about which games will have playable demos released during the promotion, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we’ll get treated to playable demos of Assassin’s Creed and Bioshock.

If the promotion is anything like last year’s event, you’re going to want to make sure to download any content you want as soon as possible – last year much of the content was taken down after the show – so start making room on that hard drive now – You have been warned. (Here’s a tip – if you haven’t removed the Halo 3 beta from your hard drive yet, now is the time to do it – it will free up a little over a gigabyte of space.)

Xbox LIVE Bringing E3 Home – Gamerscore Blog
Microsoft Once Again Bringing E3 Home to Xbox 360 Owners Around the Globe – Official Microsoft press release
E3 Media & Business Summit – Official website

July 3, 2007 Posted by nylatenite | E3, Microsoft, Promotion, Xbox 360, Xbox Live | Leave a comment

TWO “NEW” HALO 2 MAPS COMING APRIL 17TH

In the latest Bungie Weekly Update, Bungie’s official Content Monkey, Frank O’Connor announced that two "new" maps will be released for Halo 2 on April 17th. I use the term "new" because as it turns out, the maps are based on some old friends from the original Halo.

The first map, Tombstone, is based on "Hang ‘Em High"…;

"Now, did I say that Tombstone was 90% Hang ‘Em High? I did! There are some subtle and some not so subtle differences. Obviously the graphical look is very, very different. Gone are the senseless pieces of geometry with no context. Now it is perfectly obvious, even to an idiot, that the giant crane put them there. We won’t go into why. It just did.

The massive main ramp has been changed too. It was something of a death trap in its Halo CE form, so now there’s a grav lift that boosts you past the really dangerous part (although the grav lift noise will give enemies some indication that you used it) and the internal corridor structure has changed on that side. There’s even some new areas up there, but they’re pretty small. And we’ve added another way into those corridors, you’ll just have to see when you play." – Frank O’Connor, Bungie

…and the second, Desolation, is based on "Derelict";

"The next most popular question was, “Why Derelict?” Easy. Right now, some of the most active players are competitive players. They get a lot of use out of these smaller symmetrical maps, since the tightly tuned variants they play require a certain amount of predictability. Derelict made the perfect foundation for that. Now, while Tombstone is a cool 90% remake of Hang ‘Em High, Desolation has been significantly altered for competitive play.

Gone are the meaningless upper floor tunnels, replaced instead by ramps that allow easy access to the ground floor, and create tight close quarters battles, and occasional grenade traps. The teleports have been replaced by rapid grav lifts, more direct and quicker to use than the ramps. Graphically it’s changed quite a bit as you can see, but it will feel familiar to Halo CE fans, although we dare say, much better." – Frank O’Connor, Bungie

Now for the important part – when these maps were originally announced, they were designated as being for the Xbox 360 only, however things have changed. Bungie has announced that the maps will be available for both the Xbox and Xbox 360 at a cost of $4.00 for both…

…and there’s the rub. I didn’t give the price in Microsoft Points, because the maps will not be available via the Xbox Live Marketplace. Because of the fact that the original Xbox is not supported by the Marketplace, the maps will only be available by direct purchase through Halo 2’s in-game interface – just like the pre-360 Halo 2 downloadable content. In other words, you’ll need to buy the maps via a credit card.

In addition to that little hitch, the maps are not transferable – they’ll only work on the system you download them for, meaning that if you have both an Xbox and Xbox 360, you’ll need to decide which one you want to play the maps on. There’s also no official word on whether or not the maps will be re-downloadable should you need to have your Xbox or Xbox 360 replaced. (O’Connor says the maps will be tied to your Live account as well as being tied to the machine you downloaded them to, which is why you can’t have the maps on both an Xbox and Xbox 360 you own.)

"Because of that, we can’t use Xbox Live Marketplace – it obviously doesn’t exist on the old Xbox. So this will be one of the last times you use a credit card proper to buy a map. In the Halo 2 game interface, you simply select the download option from the main interface, and it will show the new content there. This likely won’t ever be available on a disc, like the last maps, so this is your only method for the moment. These maps could in theory be made free eventually, like last time, but the truth is that we’ll have moved on to Halo 3 by then and it won’t be a priority. So don’t hold your breath. If you don’t have a credit card, simply buy a $4 Visa gift card at a supermarket. Bam!…

…You WILL have to pick which box to install it on. It’s tied to the box you download it to, as well as your Live account, so you effectively can’t have it on more than one system. Sorry." – Frank O’Connor, Bungie

So there you have it gang – come April 17th, Halo 2 will take a shot at re-taking it’s place as the number one game on Xbox Live. Will Gears of War fall before the Master Chief’s onslaught? I guess we’ll know in about 3 weeks.

Bungie Weekly Update 3/30/07 – Bungie.net
Bungie – Official website

March 31, 2007 Posted by nylatenite | Bungie, Downloadable Content, Halo, Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox Live | Leave a comment

XBOX LIVE SCHEDULED DOWNTIME – 3/27/07

I apologize for the lateness (and lack of) today’s updates, however it would appear that one of the hard drives on my PC has finally kicked the bucket, and I’ve been dealing with that situation for most of the day. Hopefully things will be a bit more normal by tomorrow and we’ll be back with out regularly scheduled updates.

Problems aside, Microsoft has announced that the Xbox Live service, Xbox.com and the Xbox.com forums will be taken down for maintenance on Tuesday, March 27th 2007. The maintenance period is scheduled to being at 3am EST and run through 5pm EST, though given the nature of server maintenance, don’t be surprised if it runs longer than that. Microsoft is also wants to state that this is not a dashboard update, so don’t expect to see anything new when the service comes back online.

Xbox Live Server Maintenance – Major Nelson

March 24, 2007 Posted by nylatenite | Maintenance, Microsoft, Xbox Live | Leave a comment

XBOX LIVE GOLD 12 MONTH CARD $35.82 AT WALMART

Broli1 over at Gamer’s Lounge posted that Walmart.com currently has the Xbox Live Gold 12 month subscription card for $35.82. Click here for the product page and get ’em while they last.

July 24, 2006 Posted by nylatenite | Sale, Xbox Live | Leave a comment

XBOX 360 BATTLE FOR MIDDLE EARTH II DEMO NOW AVAILABLE

A demo for Electronic Arts fantasy RTS Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth II is now available in the Xbox Live Marketplace. The demo weighs in at 848.84mb, so be sure to have something you can play offline while you wait.

July 13, 2006 Posted by nylatenite | Demo, Electronic Arts, RTS, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Marketplace | Leave a comment

XBOX LIVE DOWNTIME ANNOUNCED – 6/27/06

Major Nelson is reporting that Xbox Live will be down today for routine maintenance starting at approximately 5am EST and running through 9am EST. The Major stresses that the downtime is only for routine maintenance and no new features will be debuting. The full text of the Major’s message is as follows;

“On Tuesday June 27th from 0200-0600 PT Xbox Live will be offline for maintenance. As a result, the ‘My Xbox’ section of Xbox.com will be unavailable, and the Xbox forums will be in read only mode (you won’t be able to post.) The remainder of Xbox.com will be available.

Click this link to find out what time the maintenance will begin in your time zone

This is for maintenance, there are no new features that will appear when the service comes back online. This is all for server maintenance…nothing more, nothing less. “ -Major Nelson

Don’t believe me? Fine, check out the posting at Major Nelson’s blog here. Harumph.

June 27, 2006 Posted by nylatenite | Announcements, Downtime, Maintenance, Microsoft, Xbox 360, Xbox Live | Leave a comment

PIMP YOUR ONLINE GAMERCARD

As you may have noticed, the image of my Xbox Live Gamercard on this page has changed to something a bit more customized than the one I had been using via mygamercard.net. That’s because there’s a new site, XboxLC, that has taken the design of the card a bit further. Using their system, you can customize colors as well as the image you display for your gamer picture. Of course, it only works for internet use and will not change the actual appearance of your Xbox Live Gamercard. Definitely worth checking out though. Click here to head on over and sign up for your custom Gamercard image.

June 18, 2006 Posted by nylatenite | Fun Stuff, Xbox 360, Xbox Live | Leave a comment

XBOX LIVE SUMMER OF FUN

Gaming site ClubSkill is reporting that they’ve obtained a leaked magazine article showing Microsoft’s plans for Live this summer. While normally the summer is caught up in the post E3 dearth of games, if the article is to be believed, Microsoft plans on exploiting this slow time of the year. According to the page scan, here’s what summer has in store for Live and the 360;

June 2006
- Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting – Xbox Live Arcade – 400 points
July 2006
- Perfect Dark Zero Map Pack #2 – 500 points
- Project Gotham Racing Pack #2 – 500 points
  - 5 New Cars
  - “Cat & Mouse” game mode
  - “Proximity Based” game mode
- Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfigher – price TBA
  - Maps & co-op Scenarios
- Kameo: Elements of Power Hardcore Package- 500 points
  - Harder difficulty Single and Co-op campaign mode
  - New skins
  - Competitive co-op game mode
- Cloning Clyde – Xbox Live Arcade – 800 points
- Call of Duty 2 Map Pack – 500 points
  - 5 new multiplayer maps
August/September 2006
- Frogger – Xbox Live Arcade – 400 points
- Lumines Live – Xbox Live Arcade – 1,200 points
- Roboblitz – Xbox Live Arcade – 800 points
- Pac-Man – Xbox Live Arcade – 400 points

While nothing on that list would be a major surprise even if the article is false, I somehow get the feeling that unlike the other classic arcade ports, Street Fighter II is going to hit at a higher price than 400 points ($5). I also think that at 1,200 points, Lumines Live had better have an option not to be forced into watching the artists Microsoft plans to feature via their agreement with Warner records. I’m not familiar with the reliability of ClubSkill, but check out their article here.

June 12, 2006 Posted by nylatenite | Demo, Downloadable Content, Free Stuff, Microsoft, Promotion, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade | Leave a comment

PERFECT DARK ZERO DEMO UPDATE

Major Nelson has updated his blog entry regarding the multiplayer over Live aspect of the Perfect Dark Zero demo. As per the Major, the demo does in fact support multiplayer over Live. More specifically;

““Outpost, the story mode level included in the Demo, is playable co-op over Live. Plaza (a new map included in the upcoming DLC) is playable over Live in Team Killcount and Infection game types. (Bots are included in both game modes.) The disabled Live features are Leaderboards and Custom Match. Quick Match works for both game types” – Major Nelson

May 26, 2006 Posted by nylatenite | Demo, Microsoft, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Marketplace | Leave a comment

HALO 3 MULTIPLAYER IN TESTING & THE BUNGIE WAAHMBULANCE

I’ve been seeing reports all over the place that in a news clip over at Bungie.net, Bungie let loose the information that the multiplayer part of Halo 3 is already undergoing in-house testing. Well, that certainly is exciting news and I’d love to bring you the particulars, but I wasn’t able to find the article everyone was referring to over there. So for more information on that, check out the articles over at Gamespot and Kotaku.

What I did find however, was The Bungie Waaahmbulance, a great post by Bungie’s resident “Content Monkey” Frankie regarding the letters they’ve gotten from people who were banned for cheating. Nothing says funny in my book better than some kid trying to explain how he’s innocent of cheating while not only implicating himself, but sounding like a complete idiot in the process. See wonderful quotes such as;

” If none of these accusation are settle, you may be hearing from a lot of complaints. Some may be said by lawyers.”

“the only way they think I could have been banned permanently on my first ban is because I commited a Major Offense. I dont understand, I admit that I have had cheaters on my team, but Ive never cheated more then 8 times that I can remember, Not even close.”

“Can you guys at least just make the suspension for (name deleted) for like a month or two. I only want it to be a couple months because this is the third twelve month account that i have bought. It is killing me to keep using money for something that i can’t trust.”

“Please! I’ll destroy my mods. i’ll snich on some people that r getting away with mods on matchmaking! Just PLEASE appeal my ban. i want to play matchmaking again. i want to be clean for the arrival of Halo 3! c’mon! i didn’t know what i was getting into when i got mods from my friend”

I swear, some of the responses rank right up there with The Acts of Gord, which if you liked this little bit, you’ll absolutely LOVE. Besides, if you don’t check it out, you could be hearing from a lot of complaints. Some may even be said by lawyers!

Check out the Gamespot article here, the Kotaku article here, The Bungie Waahmbulance here and the Acts of Gord here. *whew, that’s a lot of links!*

May 23, 2006 Posted by nylatenite | Acts of Gord, Bungie, Fun Stuff, Halo, Waahmbulance, Xbox 360, Xbox Live | Leave a comment