The Stupid Gamer

Sorry for the sloppy format, but it’s the best we could do for you. Here are the notes from the conference, in case you missed it.

Don Mattrick
-Biggest sellers touted (Call of Duty 4, Mass Effect, Assassin’s Creed, BioShock, etc.)
-New franchises driving market expansion (Rock Band, Scene It, etc)
-Fallout 3, Resident Evil 5, Fable 2, Gears of War 2

Fallout 3
-Retro black and white video intro showing “ad” for Valut-Tec
-Pans out to desolated city, man holding a gun
-Rest of trailer will debut online in hours, will show harshness and humor of Fallout 3
-Live demo of Fallout 3…started by controller issues ;)
-Looks incredibly detailed, smooth
-Post-apocalyptic Washington DC
-Can play in 3rd or 1st person
-Character’s wristwatch shows skills, stats, perks, etc.
-Can play stealthy, combat-driven, or use speech to influence
-Can cue up moves when attacking enemies
-For some reason, Yankee Doodle and other patriotic songs are playing in the background
-Pretty gory…body parts are flying about
-Game has over 100 hours of gameplay, can explore massive areas of Washington DC
-Can be good, bad, or somewhere in between
-Demo ends with character using “The Fatman”, a mini-nuke weapon
-Game will have “substantial” DLC for 360 and PC

Resident Evil 5
-First time RE series on a MS console
-Demo shown, played by RE5 director
-Resident Evil 5 takes place in Kijuju, Africa
-Hero of the game, Chris Redfield investigating bioterrorism incident
-New organization called BSAA sent Chris
-Online co-op mode shown
-Chris’ partner named Sheva Alomar
-Also an agent of BSAA
-Chris tosses Sheva over a gap that neither could cross alone perviously
-As expected, it looks a lot like RE4 done in HD
-Teamwork very important to getting past obstacles and enemies
-I see exploding barrels everywhere
-Chainsaw man variant from RE4 attacks as demo ends
-Out March 13, 2009 in North America

Fable 2
-Fable 2 is already finished
-Trailer shown, apparently a glimpse at the opening of the game
-Setting is in a snowy environment, Albion has a strong European vibe
-Bird poops on a kid’s head…kind of an odd way to introduce your character
-Orbs on the screen represent your friends playing the game, can invite your friends to co-op by heading up to orbs
-Your hero/world will be unique to your experience
-Marriage shown off
-Same goofy communication/interaction system using d-pad
-Game will be out in October, 2008

Gears of War 2
-Huge battle going on, Marcus Phoenix looking on as he’s using a an enemy as a body shield
-Voice has changed for Marcus (seemingly)
-Cliff Blezinsky (sp?) says that response has been very positive
-Co-op play shown with Dom and Marcus
-Buildings are burning, crumbling, story dialog happening as the game is being played
-Scale is much more open than we saw in Gears 1
-Cover system looks smoother
-Using downed enemies as body shields before cracking their neck
-Already new enemies shown, some huge
-Graphics definitely better
-Flamethrower looks nasty and mean
-Escape sequence from a burning building that leads right to a Brumak
-They saddle up a Brumak and prepare to ride it to close the demo
-New mode announced, called Horde. 5 players take on waves of Locusts
-Out November 7, 2008 exclusive to 360

Back to Don Mattrick
-People will spend estimated $48 billion this year in games
-Games leading driver in entertainment spending
-Over 5 million units ahead of PS3
-$2.7 billion in sales (software) last 12 months…leading industry
-Highest revenue of the big 3
-Saying 360 WILL SELL more consoles than PS3 this gen (pretty bold to say at this point)
-12 million Xbox Live members, a new member every 5 seconds
-Xbox Live sales over $1 billion since 360 launch (includes DLC and media)
-Over 10,000 movies and shows on Live larger than any satellite or cable operator
-Movies and shows 1/3 of paid downloads in the US on Live
-NBC and Universal joining TV and movie lineups, USA, Sci Fi channel as well
-Movie clips shown of what’s available
-Audience gives a pity applause (all we care about is the games, MS!)

New 360 interface
-Looks nice, but might slow navigation a bit
-3D avatars (I told you!)
-Avatars are very customizable, will show on Gamercard, ideas proposed by Rare
-Community channel added, integrated with Avatars
-Live Party supports up to 8 people chatting, interacting, or playing games
-Neat photo sharing ability with the party

-Xbox Live Primetime channel coming this fall
-Primetime full of game shows for Live Party players to play along
-Primetime demo shown with game show (1 vs. 100)

-Attempting to open up a new frontier in interactive entertainment
-Dynamic content and scheduled programming coming to Live

-New Games Channel coming
-Uno Rush announced
-Games can be launched for entire Live Party by party leader

Geometry Wars 2 coming to Xbox Live Arcade
-Multiplayer!
-Enemy attacks look more organized
-Seems like a beefed up Geometry Wars: Galaxies

Galaga Legions
-Looks like Galaga with the Pac-Man: CE upgrade
-Available next month, exclusive to Live Arcade

Portal: Still Alive
-GladOS voice fills the arena
-2008 timed exclusive to 360
-New levels, achievements

South Park
-Coming to Xbox Live Arcade
-No real details, just a 5 second teaser

Xbox Live Community Games
-Coming in Fall
-Tons of indie devs putting out content
-Looks like WiiWare

Netflix Partnering with Microsoft
-Only game system allowing to watch streamed videos
-NO ADDITIONAL COST
-Uses an “instant watch queue”
-Can share and watch Netflix videos with Live Party…pretty amazing stuff

Shane Kim on stage
-Mentioning already announced big games (Prince of Persia, Mirror’s Edge, Call of Duty)
-GTA IV DLC exclusive this year on Live
-Showing Rare’s newest efforts

Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts
-Trailer is a mix of gameplay and pre-rendered footage
-Banjo is taking supplies and parts into a building/workshop
-Banjo game will be on air, land, and sea
-Vehicles and customizing them are important to game progress
-Available for the holiday season

Viva Pinata: Party Animals
-Trailer looks all real-time
-New regions allow for over 100 different types of pinatas
-Xbox Vision camera allows gamers to scan pinatas in via cards
-Available for the holiday season

Scene It: Box Office Smash
-Very Wii-esque trailer showing different gamer types joining in to play
-Can play with Live Party
-First retail game to use avatars
-New questions via Live Marketplace

You’re In the Movies
-Will ship with Vision camera
-Make, uh, you’re own movies
-Share them and whatnot

Guitar Hero IV
-Metallica’s new album exclusive to GH III/GH IV
-Will be available same time as digital and disc download debut

Lips
-Microsoft’s karaoke game
-Comes with microphone
-You can use your own music
-Blonde girl on stage demos the game…terribly annoying song

Rock Band 2
-Debuts in September exclusively on 360
-Entire soundtrack for the RB2 disc announced…can’t see it because it’s SO FREAKING SMALL
-Noteworthy tracks/artists - Chinese Democracy track (Guns ‘n Roses), Bob Dylan, AC/DC exclusive to RB2, Metallica, Pearl Jam, Motorhead, Devo, Modest Mouse, Beck, Jane’s Addiction
-20 Bonus tracks available in the Fall
-Most tracks ever on one disc
-All DLC forward compatible
-Almost all tracks can be imported from RB1 disc to RB2
-Over 500 songs by end of the year

Yoichi Wada - President of Square-Enix
-The Last Remnant, Infinite Undiscovery, Star Ocean shown to be coming
-Last Remnant trailer shown
-Final Fantasy XIII shown for Xbox 360
-Sony fansboys just crapped themselves out of frustration
-MS fans suddenly will love Final Fantasy
-Honestly, it’s a true megaton score for MS, especially if launches at the same time
-Planned for release in both North America and Europe

End of show.

Great showing by Microsoft, overall. Lots to go over in the next few weeks.

I’m giddy like a kid in a candy store with a fistful of money. One of my favorite games from the GameCube and Dreamcast is making its way to Xbox Live Arcade tomorrow. Ikragua, developed by Treasure, is one of the most addictive and challenging shooters of all time. The game introduced a very unique combo system that begs the gamer to play the game endlessly as there’s always improvements to be made on each level. It’s been since Pac-Man: Championship Edition that we’ve seen a game so perfectly suited to the Xbox Live Arcade environment.

Now might be the right time to get one of those custom arcade sticks for your 360, huh? I know I’m going to either build my own or start pricing them. With stuff like Pac-Man: CE, Ikaruga, Street Fighter II, and others on the service, it’s probably time to ditch that piece of crap d-pad and analog stick found on the 360 controller.

To help make amends for the terrible connection issues that 360 owners have dealt with since Christmas, Microsoft is going to give every 360 owner a free Xbox Live Arcade game. Posted over at Major Nelson’s blog, the letter from Microsoft says that details on how to get your free game will be coming soon. We still don’t know if you’ll be able to choose any game, or if MS will simply make an upcoming release a free download. The offer is good for both Gold and Silver members.

Source: Major Nelson

SNK’s Metal Slug franchise is one of the best old-school shooter series out there. This Wednesday, you’ll be able to download Metal Slug 3 for 800 MS Points ($10).

I own Metal Slug 3 for the Xbox, PS2, NeoGeo (MVS cartridge), and Wii. This won’t stop me, however, from picking the game up once more when it hits XBLA next week. I’m hoping the achievements help to reignite my love for the game. There was a time when I could complete it in under 5 credits, but that’s back when I pretty much had the game memorized. I don’t have details yet, but online co-op would be killer.

The Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare patch is still coming, it’s just going to show up a little later than originally planned. According to a source inside Activision, Infinity Ward has completed the patch and it is now in the hands of Microsoft awaiting certification. It looks like the patch, which is meant to address several online multiplayer issues, will most likely come out in early January. Some of the fixes are a direct reaction to feedback that Infinity Ward received from the gaming public.

The patch will sure be nice, it’s too bad the Microsoft certification process takes so long. I hear all the time about completed patches, updates, DLC, and XBLA games that are just in the long line of the Microsoft Xbox Live certification process. Ah well, better safe than sorry…

The first Halo 3 map pack will be made available December 11th. The pack contains three maps and will cost 800 points (a little steep, Bungie!). Details from the press release are as follows:

Available for 800 Microsoft Points exclusively on Xbox LIVE Marketplace, each map presents a totally different play style. Standoff’s symmetrical valley, with its entrenched bases and fields of boulders is ideal for mid-sized objective and Slayer game types, while Rat’s Nest’s vast, labyrinthine passages bring something new to the “Halo” multiplayer experience: an indoor vehicle paradise, strongly influenced by the Campaign mode, ideal for big team battles. Finally, Foundry is the ultimate Forge map – players can edit every single object in this voluminous industrial warehouse, place stairways, walls, bridges and tunnels to create an entirely new play space and build almost any kind of map they can think of.

Here are some pictures, borrowed from BlimBlim at Gamersyde (thanks!):

Note: These screens are downscaled. To see the full size, drag and drop them to your address bar.

Yesterday Guitar Hero III saw some new tracks made available for download. We were a bit excited because it came so early, but today some of the DLC for Rock Band was leaked. Well, let me be the first to say that this shames anything Activision has ever offered for download to support either GHII or GHIII thus far. Here’s what we know is coming up soon for Rock Band (in addition to the already announced full album downloads from Nirvana, The Grateful Dead, and The Who):

The Police pack:

• “Roxanne”
• “Synchronicity II”
• “Can’t Stand Losing You”

Queens of the Stone Age pack:

• “3s and 7s”
• “Sick Sick Sick”
• “Little Sister”

Metallica pack:

• Three or six songs, none announced yet

Black Sabbath pack:

• “N.I.B.” (cover)
• “Sweet Leaf” (cover)
• “War Pigs” (cover)

David Bowie pack:

• “Moonage Dream”
• “Heroes”
• “Queen Bitch”

Punk pack:

• “Ever Fallen in Love” by Buzzcocks (cover)
• “I Fought the Law” by The Clash
• “Rockaway Beach” by The Ramones

Single Songs:

• “Fortunate Son” by Credence Clearwater Revival
• “Juke Box Hero” by Foreigner
• “My Sharona” by The Knack
• “Cherry Bomb” by The Runaways
• “Bang a Gong” by T-Rex
• “Joker and the Thief” by Wolfmother
• “Brass in a Pocket” by Pretenders
• “My Iron Lung” by Radiohead
• “Buddy Holly” by Weezer

Yeah, you guys read that right…SINGLE SONGS! Activision could learn from this and start offering single songs as well. I hate the packs, personally, because usually you don’t want all three. I’m super stoked for My Iron Lung and some of the other tracks listed above. It sure would be nice if a DLC war could get started between the two franchises…

For 500 points, you can download song packs from the Foo Fighters or Velvet Revolver. Each pack has three songs, so they come out to cost just over $2.00/song. It’s probably not the best value, but it’s nice to see that Activision is committed to expanding the GHIII setlist. Hopefully GHIII gets better DLC support than GHII has.

Foo Fighters Song Pack:

• The Pretender
• All My Life
• This is a Call

Velvet Revolver Song Pack:

• Slither
• Messages
• She Builds Quick Machines

Yes, the headline is correct. Treasure’s Dreamcast/arcade/GameCube classic shooter is coming to Xbox Live Arcade. Not much more needs to be said except for that the game is a required download for each and every 360 owner. If you don’t download the game, I’m pretty sure you deserve the eventual red rings of death.

Also coming to XBLA:

• Rez - Holy crap awesome rhythm shooter
• Exit - Pretty solid and entertaining platformer/puzzler
• Every Extra Extend Extreme - Neat rhythm puzzler from the maker of Lumines
• Omega Five - Never played this one…

Seriously, boys and girls. Ikaruga will rock your face off. It’s just a shame that the 360 d-pad is so terrible. Maybe it’s time to either track down the Dead or Alive 4 stick, or look into a custom arcade joystick solution.

Apparently Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground is going to offer games an early peek at Guitar Hero III for the 360. Also announced by Activision is that two weeks after the release of Tony Hawk Proving Ground that the demo would make its way onto the Xbox Live Marketplace as a free download. The songs reportedly being included in the demo are:

“Lay Down” by Preistess
“Even Flow” by Pearl Jam
“The Metal” by Tenacious D
“Hit Me With Your Best Shot” as made famous by Pat Benatar
“Rock You Like A Hurricane” as made famous by Scorpions

The “as made famous by” means that the song is a remake while the others are master tracks. Pearl Jam in the demo? Awesome.